Privilege escalation in AMD Generic Encapsulated Software Architecture (AGESA)

1) Permissions, Privileges, and Access Controls

EUVDB-ID: #VU29206

Risk: Low

CVSSv3.1: 6.1 [CVSS:3.1/AV:P/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H/E:U/RL:U/RC:C]

CVE-ID: CVE-2020-12890

CWE-ID: CWE-264 - Permissions, Privileges, and Access Controls

Exploit availability: No

Description

The vulnerability allows a local attacker to escalate privileges on the system.

The vulnerability exists due to improper security restrictions in AMD’s client and embedded processors that came out between 2016 and 2019. An authenticated attacker with physical access can manipulate the AMD Generic Encapsulated Software Architecture (AGESA) and execute arbitrary code on the target system.

Mitigation

Cybersecurity Help is currently unaware of any official solution to address this vulnerability.

Vulnerable software versions

AMD Generic Encapsulated Software Architecture: All versions

CPE2.3

• cpe:2.3:o:amd:agesa:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:

External links

http://www.amd.com/en/corporate/product-security
http://threatpost.com/amd-fixes-for-high-severity-smm-callout-flaws-upcoming/156787/

Q & A

Can this vulnerability be exploited remotely?

No. The attacker should have physical access to the system in order to successfully exploit this vulnerability.

Is there known malware, which exploits this vulnerability?

No. We are not aware of malware exploiting this vulnerability.