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X11ssm F FirmwareOperating system · Supermicro

CVE-2023-40289

HIGH · 7.2 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-03-27
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
78/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable 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 command injection issue was discovered on Supermicro X11SSM-F, X11SAE-F, and X11SSE-F 1.66 devices. An attacker can exploit this to elevate privileges from a user with BMC administrative privileges.

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 confidence

This is a command injection vulnerability in the BMC (Baseboard Management Controller) firmware of Supermicro X11SSM-F, X11SAE-F, and X11SSE-F devices at version 1.66. An authenticated attacker with BMC administrative privileges can inject arbitrary commands through the vulnerable interface to elevate privileges beyond their current administrative access level.

MitigationApply the vendor-supplied firmware patch when available. Until then, restrict BMC network access to trusted networks only, disable unnecessary BMC services, and monitor for unauthorized administrative access attempts.

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
X11ssm F FirmwareOperating system
Affected:= 1.66
X11sae F FirmwareOperating system
Affected:= 1.66
X11sse F FirmwareOperating system
Affected:= 1.66

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
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/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 Supermicro model
    Check the system label or BIOS information for the exact model number (X11SSM-F, X11SAE-F, or X11SSE-F). This can be viewed on the physical server chassis label, in BIOS setup under 'Main' or 'System Information', or via IPMI at: http://BMC_IP/cgi/ipmi.cgi?get_session&session=... or through the web UI login page which often displays the model.
    Affected if The model is NOT one of: X11SSM-F, X11SAE-F, or X11SSE-F (unaffected models are not vulnerable).
  2. Check BMC firmware version
    Access the BMC web interface and navigate to 'Maintenance' > 'Firmware Update' or 'Information' > 'Firmware Information' to view the installed BMC firmware version. Alternatively, use IPMI command: ipmitool -I lanplus -H BMC_IP -U ADMIN -P PASSMCMC mc info or check via the BIOS (F2 or Del at boot) under 'IPMI' > 'BMC Information'.
    Affected if Firmware version is exactly 1.66 (only this specific version is affected; other versions are not vulnerable to this CVE).
  3. Verify BMC web interface accessibility
    Confirm the BMC web interface (port 443 or 80) is reachable on the network by attempting to access https://BMC_IP or http://BMC_IP. Also verify IPMI over LAN is enabled via IPMI command: ipmitool -I lanplus -H BMC_IP -U ADMIN -P PASSMCMC raw 0x32 0x70 0x0c 0x00 or through BMC web UI under 'Settings' > 'Services' > 'IPMI over LAN'.
    Affected if The BMC web interface and/or IPMI over LAN is disabled and unreachable from any network (reduces attack surface but does not remove the vulnerability from the firmware itself).
  4. Confirm BMC administrative access exists
    Review BMC user accounts via the web UI under 'Settings' > 'User Management' or via IPMI: ipmitool -I lanplus -H BMC_IP -U ADMIN -P PASSMCMC user list. Note the number of accounts with Administrator-level privileges.
    Affected if No BMC user accounts with administrative privileges exist on the system (the vulnerability requires an authenticated BMC administrator).

You are affected if your system is a Supermicro X11SSM-F, X11SAE-F, or X11SSE-F running BMC firmware version 1.66 with the BMC interface network-accessible and at least one BMC administrative account configured.

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-supplied firmware patch when available. Until then, restrict BMC network access to trusted networks only, disable unnecessary BMC services, and monitor for unauthorized administrative access attempts.

Fix this in X11ssm F Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing3.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
11.0 hours of engineering $1,930
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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-2023-40289 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