CVE-2019-0093

Vulnerability

Insufficient data sanitization in the Host Embedded Controller Interface (HECI) subsystem of Intel(R) Converged Security Management Engine (CSME) before versions 11.8.65, 11.11.65, 11.22.65, and 12.0.35, and Intel(R) Server Platform Services (SPS) before version SPS_E3_05.00.04.027.0, may allow a privileged user to potentially enable information disclosure via local access [1]. The vulnerability stems from improper handling of data within the HECI communication channel, which can be exploited by an attacker with local administrative privileges.

Exploitation

An attacker must have local access to the system and possess sufficient privileges (e.g., root or administrator) to interact with the HECI subsystem. The attacker can then send crafted requests to the HECI interface, exploiting the insufficient sanitization to read sensitive data from memory or other protected regions [1]. No user interaction beyond the initial privilege escalation is required.

Impact

Successful exploitation leads to information disclosure, potentially exposing sensitive data such as cryptographic keys, firmware secrets, or other confidential information managed by the CSME or SPS. The attacker gains access to data that should be protected from even privileged users, compromising the confidentiality of the platform's security mechanisms [1].

Mitigation

Intel has released updated firmware versions to address this vulnerability: CSME versions 11.8.65, 11.11.65, 11.22.65, 12.0.35 or later, and SPS version SPS_E3_05.00.04.027.0 or later [1]. Users should apply these updates through their system vendor's firmware update process. No workarounds are documented; updating to the fixed versions is the only mitigation.