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Epyc 8024pn FirmwareOperating system · Amd

CVE-2023-20578

MEDIUM · 6.4 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-08-13
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
66/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
A TOCTOU (Time-Of-Check-Time-Of-Use) in SMM may allow an attacker with ring0 privileges and access to the BIOS menu or UEFI shell to modify the communications buffer potentially resulting in arbitrary code execution.

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

A Time-Of-Check-Time-Of-Use (TOCTOU) vulnerability in System Management Mode (SMM) allows an attacker with ring0 privileges and physical access to BIOS/UEFI shell to modify the SMM communications buffer, potentially achieving arbitrary code execution at the highest CPU privilege level (ring -2).

MitigationApply vendor-provided firmware updates (BIOS/UEFI) that address this SMM TOCTOU vulnerability. Restrict physical access to systems and limit privileged access to trusted personnel only.

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
Epyc 8024pn FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< genoapi_1.0.0.2
Epyc 8024p FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< genoapi_1.0.0.2
Epyc 8124pn FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< genoapi_1.0.0.2
Epyc 8124p FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< genoapi_1.0.0.2
Epyc 8224pn FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< genoapi_1.0.0.2
Epyc 8224p FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< genoapi_1.0.0.2
Epyc 8324pn FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< genoapi_1.0.0.2
Epyc 8324p FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< genoapi_1.0.0.2

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
High
Privileges
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/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 AMD Epyc CPU model
    Run 'dmidecode -t processor' or check /proc/cpuinfo to confirm the exact CPU model number (e.g., 8024pn, 8024p, 8124pn, 8124p, 8224pn, 8224p, 8324pn, 8324p)
    Affected if The CPU model is one of the listed affected Epyc variants (8024pn/p, 8124pn/p, 8224pn/p, 8324pn/p)
  2. Check the firmware version
    Access the BIOS/UEFI setup or use 'dmidecode -t bios' to retrieve the firmware version. Identify the genoapi component version - look for a version string like 'genoapi_1.0.0.x' in the firmware release notes or BIOS information
    Affected if The genoapi firmware version is present and is less than 1.0.0.2 (e.g., 1.0.0.1, 1.0.0.0, or not listed)
  3. Verify SMM is enabled
    From the BIOS/UEFI setup menu, check the 'System Management Mode' or 'SMM' configuration settings. On Linux, you can also check 'cat /sys/firmware/acpi tables' or use 'msr' tools to read SMM-related MSRs if available
    Affected if SMM is enabled and the system uses one of the affected CPU/firmware combinations
  4. Assess physical access exposure
    Evaluate whether untrusted individuals could gain physical access to the system and reach the BIOS/UEFI shell (e.g., console access, boot menu, or firmware configuration)
    Affected if Physical access to the BIOS/UEFI interface is possible for untrusted actors
  5. Audit privileged access (ring0)
    Review which accounts or processes have root/kernel-level (ring0) privileges on the system using 'whoami', 'id', or by checking /etc/passwd and sudoers configuration. Check for unauthorized kernel modules or drivers
    Affected if Multiple untrusted users or processes have ring0 privileges, increasing the attack surface for this vulnerability

A system is affected if it runs an AMD Epyc 8024/8124/8224/8324 variant with genoapi firmware version below 1.0.0.2 and has SMM enabled with exposure to untrusted physical or ring0 access.

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
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply vendor-provided firmware updates (BIOS/UEFI) that address this SMM TOCTOU vulnerability. Restrict physical access to systems and limit privileged access to trusted personnel only.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

genoapi_1.0.0.2

  1. Identify the current firmware version by checking the BIOS/UEFI settings or using system information tools
  2. Download the updated firmware (genoapi_1.0.0.2 or later) from the official AMD support website for your specific Epyc processor model
  3. Verify the integrity of the downloaded firmware package using checksums provided by AMD
  4. Access the BIOS/UEFI firmware update utility or use AMD's firmware update tools (such as AMDs UpdateNVRAM or equivalent)
  5. Apply the firmware update following AMD's documented update procedure for the specific Epyc model
  6. After update completion, verify the firmware has been successfully applied by checking the BIOS version or system information
  7. Reboot the system to ensure the new firmware is fully initialized
Caveat Firmware updates carry inherent risks and should be tested in a non-production environment first; ensure uninterrupted power during the update process to prevent brickage

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

Fix this in Epyc 8024pn Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation8.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
22.0 hours of engineering $3,940
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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-2023-20578 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