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Ampere Altra FirmwareOperating system · Amperecomputing

CVE-2022-37459

HIGH · 7.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-08-17
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 1.08g / 2.05a or later.
See remediation →
80/100
Remediation priority · High
Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
Ampere Altra devices before 1.08g and Ampere Altra Max devices before 2.05a allow attackers to control the predictions for return addresses and potentially hijack code flow to execute arbitrary code via a side-channel attack, aka a "Retbleed" issue.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

Retbleed is a side-channel vulnerability in Ampere Altra and Altra Max ARM64 processors affecting branch prediction mechanisms. Attackers can manipulate return address predictions to hijack control flow and potentially achieve arbitrary code execution through speculative execution leakage.

MitigationApply vendor firmware updates: Ampere Altra devices to version 1.08g or later, and Ampere Altra Max devices to version 2.05a or later.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Ampere Altra FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 1.08g
Ampere Altra Max FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< 2.05a

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
Low
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify the processor hardware
    Run `dmidecode -t processor` or check `/proc/cpuinfo` to confirm the CPU is an Ampere Altra or Ampere Altra Max ARM64 processor
    Affected if The processor is an Ampere Altra or Altra Max (if not, the system is not affected)
  2. Check Ampere Altra firmware version
    Access the BMC/IPMI interface (e.g., via `ipmitool mc info` or through web UI) and look for the firmware version string; on some systems check `/sys/firmware/devicetree/base/model` for the system model
    Affected if Firmware version is below 1.08g for Ampere Altra
  3. Check Ampere Altra Max firmware version
    Access the BMC/IPMI interface and retrieve the firmware version; the version string typically follows the pattern like '2.05a' or earlier
    Affected if Firmware version is below 2.05a for Ampere Altra Max
  4. Compare against affected version thresholds
    If you have a firmware version number, compare it numerically or lexicographically to the affected thresholds: for Altra it must be < 1.08g, for Altra Max it must be < 2.05a
    Affected if The installed firmware version is less than the fixed versions (1.08g for Altra, 2.05a for Altra Max)

The system is affected only if it runs on Ampere Altra or Altra Max hardware with firmware versions below 1.08g or 2.05a respectively.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 1.08g / 2.05a or later
Fixed in 1.08g2.05a
Interim mitigation

Apply vendor firmware updates: Ampere Altra devices to version 1.08g or later, and Ampere Altra Max devices to version 2.05a or later.

Recommended fix High confidence

Ampere Altra: ≥1.08g | Ampere Altra Max: ≥2.05a

  1. 1. Identify the Ampere Altra or Ampere Altra Max system and current firmware version
  2. 2. Download the latest firmware update from Ampere's official support portal at amperecomputing.com
  3. 3. For Ampere Altra: upgrade firmware to version 1.08g or later
  4. 4. For Ampere Altra Max: upgrade firmware to version 2.05a or later
  5. 5. Follow Ampere's standard firmware update procedure, which typically involves using their firmware update utility or IPMI/BMC interface
  6. 6. After upgrade, verify the firmware version has been successfully applied
  7. 7. Restart the system if required by the firmware update process
  8. 8. Test system functionality to ensure normal operation
Caveat Firmware upgrades may require system downtime and should be performed during maintenance windows; always backup configuration before upgrading

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Ampere Altra Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation16.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
36.0 hours of engineering $6,400
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-37459 in production — separate from our analysis above.

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data