CVE-2024-21944
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 · uneditedImproper input validation for DIMM serial presence detect (SPD) metadata could allow an attacker with physical access, ring0 access on a system with a non-compliant DIMM, or control over the Root of Trust for BIOS update, to potentially overwrite guest memory resulting in loss of guest data integrity.
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 confidenceImproper input validation in DIMM Serial Presence Detect (SPD) metadata allows an attacker with physical access, ring0 privileges on systems with non-compliant DIMMs, or control over the BIOS update Root of Trust to potentially overwrite guest memory. The SPD data, which contains memory module configuration information, is not properly validated before use, allowing out-of-bounds memory writes that can corrupt guest virtual machine memory.
Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.
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
- Changed
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- High
- Availability
- None
CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:N
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 system BIOS/firmware versionOn the target system, run `dmidecode -s bios-version` or check via vendor-specific tools (e.g., `ipmi` or UEFI shell `dmidecode`). Compare the returned version against any vendor-specific advisories or patch releases for CVE-2024-21944.Affected if The BIOS/firmware version is older than the patched version released by the system vendor for this vulnerability.
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Check if virtualization features are enabledRun `systemd-detect-virt` or check hypervisor presence via `dmesg | grep -i hypervisor`. On Intel systems, also check for VT-d/AMD-Vi IOMMU status in BIOS or via `dmesg | grep -e 'IOMMU\|DMAR'`.Affected if Virtualization with IOMMU passthrough is enabled and the system uses virtualized guest environments.
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Verify DIMM SPD data accessibilityCheck if DIMM SPD data can be read via tools like `decode-dimms` (from `i2c-tools`), `ipmi` raw commands, or vendor-specific management interfaces (e.g., Dell Lifecycle Controller, HP iLO, Lenovo XCC).Affected if DIMMs report SPD data and the system exposes SPD read capabilities to software with ring0 privileges.
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Confirm ring0 privilege availabilityIdentify if local privilege escalation to kernel/ring0 is possible, or if accounts with root/Administrator privileges exist. Check with `whoami` and review sudo/administrator group memberships.Affected if An attacker can obtain ring0 privileges on the system, enabling SPD metadata manipulation.
The system is affected if it runs a BIOS/firmware version unpatched for CVE-2024-21944, has virtualization with IOMMU enabled, and an attacker can achieve physical access or ring0 privileges to manipulate DIMM SPD metadata.
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 dataImplement rigorous input validation on all SPD metadata before processing. Apply vendor BIOS/firmware updates when available. Ensure only validated, compliant DIMMs are used in virtualization environments.
- Consultation4.0 h
- Implementation8.0 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-2024-21944 — 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-2024-21944 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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- Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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