CVE-2023-6138
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 · uneditedA potential security vulnerability has been identified in the system BIOS for certain HP Workstation PCs, which might allow escalation of privilege, arbitrary code execution, or denial of service. HP is releasing mitigation for the potential vulnerability.
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 potential security vulnerability exists in the system BIOS firmware of certain HP Workstation PCs. This BIOS-level flaw could allow an attacker to escalate privileges, execute arbitrary code, or cause denial of service conditions.
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< 2.62< 2.62< 2.62CVSS 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
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- High
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:N/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 HP workstation modelCheck the product label on the chassis or boot screen for the model number (HP Z440, Z640, or Z840)Affected if The model is not one of these three listed models (the CVE does not apply)
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Locate the BIOS version in WindowsOpen Command Prompt and run: wmic bios get name,version or use System Information (msinfo32) and look for BIOS Version/DateAffected if Unable to retrieve a BIOS version number (firmware may not be readable by the OS)
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Locate the BIOS version in LinuxRun: sudo dmidecode -s bios-version or check /sys/class/dmi/id/bios_versionAffected if Unable to retrieve a BIOS version number (firmware may not be readable by the OS)
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Locate the BIOS version via HP utilityUse HP Support Assistant, HP BIOS Setup (press F10 during boot), or HP's BIOS update tool to view the current firmware versionAffected if Unable to access BIOS version through HP tools
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Compare installed version against CVE thresholdCompare the installed BIOS version to the affected range: HP Z440/Z640/Z840 with BIOS version < 2.62 are vulnerable. Versions 2.62 and above are patchedAffected if The installed BIOS version is below 2.62 (for example, 2.50, 2.41, 1.23, etc.)
Your system is affected only if you own an HP Z440, Z640, or Z840 Workstation with BIOS firmware version installed below 2.62.
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.
dbcve · scoped2.62
Apply HP-released BIOS firmware updates for affected Workstation PC models as they become available through HP's support website.
Firmware version 2.62
- Navigate to the HP Support website (support.hp.com)
- Locate the HP Workstation model (Z440, Z640, or Z840)
- Search for BIOS/firmware updates
- Download BIOS Firmware version 2.62 or later
- Follow HP's provided instructions to update the system BIOS firmware
- Restart the workstation after applying the firmware update
Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation2.0 h
- Testing6.0 h
- Review / QA3.0 h
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Scan for this in your stack
Free · runs locallyCheck whether your project pulls in CVE-2023-6138 — 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-2023-6138 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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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.
- 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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