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Insydeh2oApplication · Insyde

CVE-2023-22613

HIGH · 8.8 CVSS v3.1 Published 2023-04-11
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
90/100
Remediation priority · Urgent
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
An issue was discovered in IhisiSmm in Insyde InsydeH2O with kernel 5.0 through 5.5. It is possible to write to an attacker-controlled address. An attacker could invoke an SMI handler with a malformed pointer in RCX that overlaps SMRAM, resulting in SMM memory corruption.

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 pointer validation vulnerability in the IhisiSmm SMI handler of InsydeH2O firmware (kernel 5.0-5.5) allows writing to attacker-controlled memory addresses. By invoking the SMI handler with a malformed pointer in the RCX register that overlaps SMRAM (System Management RAM), an attacker can corrupt SMM memory and potentially achieve code execution in the highly privileged SMM context.

MitigationApply the vendor-provided InsydeH2O firmware update addressing CVE-2023-22613. Until patching is possible, monitor for unauthorized physical access or privileged code that could trigger the SMI handler.

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
Insydeh2oApplication
Affected:= 05.27.37= 05.36.37= 05.44.45= 05.52.45

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
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/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 checks

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

  1. Identify firmware vendor
    Check if the system uses InsydeH2O UEFI firmware. This can be done via dmidecode -s bios-vendor, in the UEFI/BIOS setup under 'Main' or 'System Information', or by checking vendor documentation. InsydeH2O is a commercial UEFI firmware used by many OEMs.
    Affected if The system does not use InsydeH2O firmware - this CVE only affects InsydeH2O-based systems.
  2. Check InsydeH2O kernel version
    In the UEFI/BIOS setup, look for a 'Kernel Version', 'Core Version', or 'Firmware Version' field under the 'Main' or 'Information' tab. Alternatively, tools like 'dmidecode -s bios-version' or 'uefi-firmware-parser' may expose this information.
    Affected if The kernel version is 5.0 through 5.5 (inclusive). Versions outside this range are not affected.
  3. Check InsydeH2O revision version
    In the UEFI/BIOS setup, look for a 'Revision', 'Version', or 'Build Number' field under the 'Main', 'Information', or 'Security' tab. This is the specific version number (e.g., 05.27.37, 05.36.37, 05.44.45, 05.52.45).
    Affected if The revision equals 05.27.37, 05.36.37, 05.44.45, or 05.52.45 exactly.
  4. Verify SMI handler accessibility
    This vulnerability requires code execution in ring 0 or physical access to trigger the IhisiSmm SMI handler. Check if the system allows arbitrary SMI calls from OS level (some tools like 'msrtool' or 'intelmetool' can enumerate SMI handlers).
    Affected if Untrusted code has ring 0 privileges or the system has been physically accessed by an attacker to trigger the handler.

A system is affected if it uses InsydeH2O firmware with kernel version 5.0-5.5 AND a revision version of exactly 05.27.37, 05.36.37, 05.44.45, or 05.52.45, AND an attacker can trigger the IhisiSmm SMI handler.

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.

From vendor data
Mitigation available No clean upgrade yet — mitigate in the meantime
Mitigation

Apply the vendor-provided InsydeH2O firmware update addressing CVE-2023-22613. Until patching is possible, monitor for unauthorized physical access or privileged code that could trigger the SMI handler.

Fix this in Insydeh2o Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing8.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
18.0 hours of engineering $3,080
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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-2023-22613 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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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