CVE-2022-4020
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 · uneditedVulnerability in the HQSwSmiDxe DXE driver on some consumer Acer Notebook devices may allow an attacker with elevated privileges to modify UEFI Secure Boot settings by modifying an NVRAM variable.
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 · moderate confidenceA vulnerability in the HQSwSmiDxe DXE driver on certain consumer Acer Notebook devices allows an authenticated attacker with elevated privileges to modify UEFI Secure Boot settings by manipulating an NVRAM variable, potentially compromising the boot chain integrity.
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 dataall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsall versionsCVSS 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
- High
- User interaction
- None
- Scope
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- High
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/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 checksWork through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.
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Identify your Acer notebook modelRun system information command (such as 'systeminfo' on Windows or 'dmidecode -s system-product-name' on Linux) or check the physical laptop label to confirm the exact model numberAffected if The model is Acer Aspire A315-22g, Acer Aspire A115-21, Acer Aspire A315-22, Acer Extensa Ex215-21, or Acer Extensa Ex215-21g
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Check your current BIOS/firmware versionOn Windows, use 'wmic bios get smbiosbiosversion' or check in UEFI/BIOS setup (typically accessed via F2 or Del at boot). On Linux, use 'dmidecode -s bios-version'Affected if The firmware version is any version prior to the Acer security update; the vulnerability affects all versions of the listed models
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Verify Secure Boot configuration statusOn Windows, run 'bcdedit /enum firmware' or use 'msinfo32' to check Secure Boot state. On Linux, use 'mokutil --sb-state'. In UEFI setup, navigate to Security > Secure BootAffected if Secure Boot shows as disabled, modified, or in an unexpected state when it should be enabled
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Check for unexpected NVRAM variable modificationsOn Windows, use 'bcdedit /enum all' to review boot entries. On Linux, use 'efivar -l' to list UEFI variables, looking for any unusual or recently modified Secure Boot-related variablesAffected if There are unexpected boot entries, altered Secure Boot keys, or NVRAM variables that do not match the expected secure configuration
You are affected if your system is an Acer Aspire A315-22g, A115-21, A315-22, Extensa Ex215-21, or Extensa Ex215-21g model running firmware without the Acer security update, especially if Secure Boot shows as disabled or modified.
Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.
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.
From vendor dataApply the Acer firmware update addressing this vulnerability. Prior to firmware update, ensure physical security and restrict privileged access. After update, verify Secure Boot remains enabled and functional.
- Consultation3.0 h
- Implementation6.0 h
- Testing3.0 h
- Review / QA2.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2022-4020 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.
References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.
Primary sourcesPractitioner notes
ContributedPeer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-4020 in production — separate from our analysis above.
The advisory tells you what broke. It rarely tells you what actually worked. If you’ve dealt with this one, that detail is what the next engineer is searching for.
- The version that genuinely resolved it — not the one the vendor claimed
- A config change or rule that shut the vector down
- A gotcha in the upgrade path that cost you an afternoon
No notes yet
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- 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
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