CVE-2023-22297 – This vulnerability in Intel Server Board BMC fi... (How to Fix)

Q: What is the severity of CVE-2023-22297?

CVE-2023-22297 has a CVSS score of 8.2 (HIGH). This vulnerability in Intel Server Board BMC firmware allows a privileged user to access memory beyond buffer boundaries, potentially enabling privilege escalation through local access. It affects systems running Intel Server Board BMC firmware versions before 2.90. The issue requires local access and privileged credentials to exploit.

📋 TL;DR

This vulnerability in Intel Server Board BMC firmware allows a privileged user to access memory beyond buffer boundaries, potentially enabling privilege escalation through local access. It affects systems running Intel Server Board BMC firmware versions before 2.90. The issue requires local access and privileged credentials to exploit.

💻 Affected Systems

Products:

Intel Server Board BMC firmware

Versions: All versions before 2.90

Operating Systems: Not applicable - BMC firmware

Default Config Vulnerable: ⚠️ Yes

Notes: Only affects systems with Intel Server Board BMC firmware; requires local access and privileged credentials.

📦 What is this software?

⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact

🔴

Worst Case

A privileged attacker could gain full administrative control over the BMC, potentially compromising the entire server management infrastructure and enabling persistent access to the physical server.

🟠

Likely Case

A malicious insider or compromised administrator account could escalate privileges within the BMC management interface, gaining unauthorized access to server management functions.

🟢

If Mitigated

With proper access controls and network segmentation, the impact is limited to the BMC management plane only, preventing lateral movement to the host operating system.

🌐 Internet-Facing: LOW - BMC interfaces should not be exposed to the internet; exploitation requires local network access.

🏢 Internal Only: HIGH - If BMC interfaces are accessible on internal networks, privileged attackers could exploit this vulnerability to compromise server management.

🎯 Exploit Status

Public PoC: ✅ No

Weaponized: UNKNOWN

Unauthenticated Exploit: ✅ No

Complexity: MEDIUM

Exploitation requires privileged access to the BMC interface; no public exploit code has been disclosed as of the advisory date.

🛠️ Fix & Mitigation

✅ Official Fix

Patch Version: 2.90

Vendor Advisory: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/security-center/advisory/intel-sa-00839.html

Restart Required: Yes

Instructions:

1. Download BMC firmware version 2.90 from Intel support site. 2. Access BMC web interface with admin credentials. 3. Navigate to firmware update section. 4. Upload and apply the firmware update. 5. Reboot the BMC after update completes.

🔧 Temporary Workarounds

Network Segmentation

all

Isolate BMC management interfaces to dedicated management VLANs with strict access controls.

Access Control Hardening

all

Implement strict role-based access control for BMC interfaces and regularly audit privileged accounts.

🧯 If You Can't Patch

Implement strict network segmentation to isolate BMC interfaces from general network traffic
Enforce multi-factor authentication and least privilege access controls for BMC management

🔍 How to Verify

Check if Vulnerable:

Check BMC firmware version via web interface or IPMI commands; versions below 2.90 are vulnerable.

Check Version:

ipmitool mc info | grep 'Firmware Revision' or check via BMC web interface

Verify Fix Applied:

Confirm BMC firmware version is 2.90 or higher after update.

📡 Detection & Monitoring

Log Indicators:

Multiple failed authentication attempts followed by successful privileged access to BMC
Unusual firmware update or configuration change activities

Network Indicators:

Unusual traffic patterns to BMC management interfaces
Connection attempts from unexpected source IPs to BMC ports

SIEM Query:

source="BMC_logs" AND (event_type="authentication" AND result="success" AND user_role="admin") OR (event_type="firmware_update" OR event_type="configuration_change")

📊 Metadata

CVE ID: CVE-2023-22297

CVSS v3 Score: 8.2 (HIGH)

CVSS Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

CWE: CWE-788

Published: May 10, 2023

Last Updated: November 21, 2024

🔗 References

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/security-center/advisory/intel-sa-00839.html Patch,Vendor Advisory
https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/security-center/advisory/intel-sa-00839.html Patch,Vendor Advisory

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