HP Sure Start IFD Protection: Missing Authentication for Critical Functionality
CVE-2023-6215 is a high-severity missing authentication for critical functionality vulnerability in HP Sure Start IFD Protection from HP, with a CVSS 4.0 base score of 7.2 out of 10. It can be exploited with physical access to the device by an unauthenticated attacker, without any action from a user. Affected HP Sure Start IFD Protection versions: See HP security bulletin reference for affected versions. The record does not name a fixed version, so check the vendor advisory. There is no confirmed exploitation so far. EPSS estimates a 0.25% chance of exploitation within 30 days, which is low compared with other CVEs.
High severity with no evidence of exploitation so far.
What to do
- Check which version of HP Sure Start IFD Protection you run against the affected versions below, and install the vendor's latest release.
Affected products and versions
| Vendor | Product | Affected versions | Fixed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| HP | HP Sure Start IFD Protection | See HP security bulletin reference for affected versions | Not stated |
Version data comes from the organisation that assigned the CVE. Confirm against the vendor advisory before deciding you are unaffected.
How the severity score breaks down
- Attack vector
- PhysicalThe attacker must physically touch the device.
- Attack complexity
- LowNo special conditions are needed; the attack works reliably.
- Attack requirements
- NoneThe attack does not depend on a particular deployment or configuration.
- Privileges required
- NoneNo account or login is needed.
- User interaction
- NoneNo action by a victim is required.
- Confidentiality (vulnerable system)
- LowLimited loss of confidentiality on the vulnerable system.
- Integrity (vulnerable system)
- HighSerious loss of integrity on the vulnerable system.
- Availability (vulnerable system)
- HighSerious loss of availability on the vulnerable system.
- Confidentiality (other systems)
- HighSerious loss of confidentiality on systems beyond the vulnerable one.
- Integrity (other systems)
- HighSerious loss of integrity on systems beyond the vulnerable one.
- Availability (other systems)
- HighSerious loss of availability on systems beyond the vulnerable one.
Vector: CVSS:4.0/AV:P/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:H/VA:H/SC:H/SI:H/SA:H/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X. Scored by CNA (hp.com).
Official description
A potential security vulnerability has been identified in HP Sure Start’s protection of the Intel Flash Descriptor in certain HP PC products, which might allow security bypass, arbitrary code execution, loss of integrity or confidentiality, or denial of service. HP is releasing BIOS updates to mitigate the potential vulnerability.
Source: the CVE record as published by its numbering authority, via NVD and CVE.org.
The underlying weakness: Missing Authentication for Critical Functionality
The product does not perform any authentication for functionality that requires a provable user identity or consumes a significant amount of resources.
How developers prevent this class of flaw
- For any security checks that are performed on the client side, ensure that these checks are duplicated on the server side, in order to avoid CWE-602. Attackers can bypass the client-side checks by modifying values after the checks have been performed, or by changing the client to remove the client-side checks entirely. Then, these modified values would be submitted to the server.
- Use a vetted library or framework that does not allow this weakness to occur or provides constructs that make this weakness easier to avoid. For example, consider using libraries with authentication capabilities such as OpenSSL or the ESAPI Authenticator.
- When storing data in the cloud (e.g., S3 buckets, Azure blobs, Google Cloud Storage, etc.), use the provider's controls to require strong authentication for users who should be allowed to access the data.
More Missing Authentication for Critical Functionality vulnerabilities (CWE-306)
Timeline
- CVE record published.
- CISA published its SSVC assessment (exploitation: none, automatable: no, technical impact: total).
- Record last changed materially (score, affected products, status or references).
References
Recent Missing Authentication for Critical Functionality vulnerabilities
- 9.1 Critical severity
- 8.7 High severity
- 7.0 High severity
- 9.1 Critical severity
- 9.8 Critical severity
- 9.1 Critical severity
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