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Epyc 7203 FirmwareOperating system · Amd

CVE-2024-21980

HIGH · 7.9 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-08-05
Mitigation only
No fix yet — a mitigation exists. There is no fixed release. A documented workaround reduces exposure in the meantime.
See remediation →
81/100
Remediation priority · High
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
Improper restriction of write operations in SNP firmware could allow a malicious hypervisor to potentially overwrite a guest's memory or UMC seed resulting in loss of confidentiality and 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 confidence

Improper restriction of write operations in AMD SNP (Secure Nested Pages) firmware allows a malicious hypervisor to overwrite guest memory or UMC seed, breaking the confidentiality and integrity guarantees of SEV-SG/SEV-SNP confidential computing environments.

MitigationApply AMD-provided SNP firmware/microcode updates to remediate the improper write restriction. Verify SEV-SG/SEV-SNP protections function correctly after patching.

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 7203 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< milanpi_1.0.0.d
Epyc 7203p FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< milanpi_1.0.0.d
Epyc 72f3 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< milanpi_1.0.0.d
Epyc 7303 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< milanpi_1.0.0.d
Epyc 7303p FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< milanpi_1.0.0.d
Epyc 7313 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< milanpi_1.0.0.d
Epyc 7313p FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< milanpi_1.0.0.d
Epyc 7343 FirmwareOperating system
Affected:< milanpi_1.0.0.d

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
High
User interaction
None
Scope
Changed
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
High
Availability
None

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/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 checks

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

  1. Identify the AMD Epyc processor model
    Use system commands such as 'lscpu' or check BIOS/UEFI information to identify the exact CPU model number
    Affected if The processor is one of: Epyc 7203, 7203p, 72f3, 7303, 7303p, 7313, 7313p, or 7343
  2. Verify SEV-SG or SEV-SNP is enabled
    Check hypervisor or cloud provider documentation for the active confidential computing protections, or inspect system configuration for SEV-related flags (such as sev= or sev-snp= kernel parameters)
    Affected if SEV-SG or SEV-SNP is actively enabled for running virtual machines
  3. Obtain the SNP firmware version
    Query the AMD SNP firmware version through the hypervisor or platform-specific tools (such as 'cpuid' or platform firmware reporting interfaces). The firmware is typically labeled with the 'milanpi' prefix.
    Affected if The SNP firmware version is < milanpi_1.0.0.d (for example, milanpi_1.0.0.c or earlier)
  4. Confirm the system is running in a virtualized environment
    Determine whether the workload is deployed as a virtual machine or container managed by a hypervisor, as the vulnerability requires a malicious hypervisor context
    Affected if The affected processor with SEV-SG/SEV-SNP is running as a guest under a hypervisor

A user is affected if they are running an AMD Epyc 7203/7203p/72f3/7303/7303p/7313/7313p/7343 processor with SEV-SG or SEV-SNP enabled and SNP firmware version earlier than milanpi_1.0.0.d in a virtualized environment.

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 AMD-provided SNP firmware/microcode updates to remediate the improper write restriction. Verify SEV-SG/SEV-SNP protections function correctly after patching.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

milanpi_1.0.0.d or later

  1. Identify the current SEV-SNP firmware version currently installed on the affected AMD Epyc 7203/7203p/72f3/7303/7303p/7313/7313p/7343 processors
  2. Obtain the updated AMD SEV-SNP firmware version 'milanpi_1.0.0.d' or later from AMD's official firmware distribution channels
  3. Apply the firmware update following AMD's standard BIOS/UEFI firmware update procedures for the specific server platform
  4. After updating, verify the new SEV-SNP firmware version is correctly installed and matches the fixed release
Caveat Firmware updates may require server downtime and should be tested in a non-production environment first; ensure platform support before applying

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

Fix this in Epyc 7203 Firmware Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation4.0 h
  • Implementation8.0 h
  • Testing12.0 h
  • Review / QA4.0 h
28.0 hours of engineering $4,760
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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-2024-21980 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
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  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
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