CVE-2024-54084
📋 TL;DR
This CVE describes a Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) race condition vulnerability in AMI's APTIOV BIOS firmware. An attacker with local access can exploit this to execute arbitrary code, potentially compromising the system's firmware integrity. This affects systems using vulnerable versions of AMI's APTIOV BIOS.
💻 Affected Systems
- AMI APTIOV BIOS
📦 What is this software?
⚠️ Risk & Real-World Impact
Worst Case
Complete system compromise via arbitrary code execution at BIOS/firmware level, allowing persistent malware installation, bypassing OS security controls, and potential hardware damage.
Likely Case
Local privilege escalation allowing attackers to gain elevated system privileges, install backdoors, or manipulate system firmware settings.
If Mitigated
Limited impact with proper BIOS write protection enabled, secure boot configured, and physical/administrative access controls in place.
🎯 Exploit Status
Requires local access and precise timing to exploit the race condition; BIOS-level exploitation typically requires specialized knowledge
🛠️ Fix & Mitigation
✅ Official Fix
Patch Version: Refer to AMI security advisory for specific patched versions
Vendor Advisory: https://go.ami.com/hubfs/Security%20Advisories/2025/AMI-SA-2025003.pdf
Restart Required: Yes
Instructions:
1. Contact system/OEM vendor for BIOS update availability 2. Download appropriate BIOS update from vendor 3. Follow vendor's BIOS update procedure 4. Verify BIOS version after update
🔧 Temporary Workarounds
Restrict Physical and Administrative Access
allLimit physical access to systems and restrict administrative privileges to prevent local exploitation
Enable BIOS Write Protection
allConfigure BIOS settings to prevent unauthorized firmware modifications if supported by hardware
🧯 If You Can't Patch
- Implement strict access controls to prevent unauthorized local access to vulnerable systems
- Monitor for suspicious BIOS/firmware modification attempts and implement endpoint detection
🔍 How to Verify
Check if Vulnerable:
Check BIOS version against vendor's vulnerability list; use system information tools or BIOS setup to identify APTIOV BIOS versionCheck Version:
wmic bios get smbiosbiosversion (Windows) or dmidecode -s bios-version (Linux) or system_profiler SPHardwareDataType (macOS)Verify Fix Applied:
Verify BIOS version has been updated to patched version specified in vendor advisory📡 Detection & Monitoring
Log Indicators:
- Unexpected BIOS/firmware update attempts
- Failed BIOS modification attempts
- System events indicating firmware changes
Network Indicators:
- Not applicable - local exploitation only
SIEM Query:
EventID=12 OR EventID=13 (Windows System events for firmware changes) OR kernel logs showing BIOS access attempts