CVE-2019-11182
📋 TL;DR
This vulnerability allows memory corruption in Intel Baseboard Management Controller (BMC) firmware, which could enable an unauthenticated attacker to cause denial of service via network access. It affects systems with vulnerable Intel BMC firmware versions, primarily impacting server infrastructure and data center environments.
💻 Affected Systems
- Intel Baseboard Management Controller (BMC) firmware
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete system instability or crash of the BMC, potentially requiring physical intervention to restore management functionality.
Likely Case
Temporary loss of remote management capabilities (IPMI, KVM, power control) until BMC reset or reboot.
If Mitigated
Minimal impact if network access to BMC interfaces is properly restricted and monitored.
🎯 Exploit Status
Requires network access to BMC management interface (typically IPMI on port 623).
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Varies by server manufacturer - check specific vendor updates
Vendor Advisory: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/security-center/advisory/intel-sa-00313.html
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Identify server model and current BMC firmware version. 2. Download updated BMC firmware from server manufacturer's support site. 3. Follow manufacturer's BMC firmware update procedure (typically via web interface or IPMI tool). 4. Reboot the BMC after update.
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Network Segmentation
allRestrict network access to BMC management interfaces
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 623 -s trusted_network -j ACCEPT
iptables -A INPUT -p tcp --dport 623 -j DROP
IPMI Authentication Hardening
linuxEnable strong authentication and disable anonymous access
ipmitool lan set 1 auth ADMIN MD5,MD5,MD5,MD5,MD5,MD5
ipmitool lan set 1 ipmiAuth none,md5,md5,md5,md5,md5
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Isolate BMC management network from production and internet networks
- Implement strict firewall rules to allow only trusted administrative IPs to access BMC interfaces
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check BMC firmware version via IPMI: ipmitool mc info | grep 'Firmware Revision' and compare against vendor's patched versionsCheck Version:
ipmitool mc info | grep 'Firmware Revision'Verify Fix Applied:
Verify updated firmware version and test BMC functionality (IPMI commands, web interface)📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- BMC crash logs
- IPMI authentication failures followed by BMC instability
- Unexpected BMC reboots
Network Indicators:
- Unusual traffic to port 623 (IPMI) from unexpected sources
- Malformed IPMI packets
SIEM Query:
source_port=623 AND (payload_contains="malformed" OR bytes>threshold)