CVE-2021-33083

Vulnerability

An improper authentication vulnerability exists in the firmware of certain Intel SSD products, including Intel(R) SSD, Intel(R) Optane(TM) SSD, Intel(R) Optane(TM) SSD DC, and Intel(R) SSD DC Products [1]. The flaw affects firmware versions prior to the updated releases specified in INTEL-SA-00563 [1]. A privileged user with local access can exploit this to trigger information disclosure.

Exploitation

An attacker must have local access to the system and possess elevated privileges, such as administrator or root access, to reach the vulnerable firmware code path [1]. The exact sequence of steps is not detailed in the available references, but the attack vector is local and requires the attacker to interact with the SSD firmware in a way that bypasses proper authentication.

Impact

On successful exploitation, the attacker could gain unauthorized access to sensitive information stored on or accessible through the SSD [1]. This is a confidentiality impact that may expose data such as encryption keys, user data, or firmware secrets. The attacker's privilege level is already high (privileged user), so the impact is primarily an information disclosure occurring within the local access context.

Mitigation

Intel has released firmware updates to address this vulnerability, as detailed in INTEL-SA-00563 [1]. Users should update the SSD firmware to the latest version provided by the device manufacturer. No workarounds are documented; the recommended mitigation is applying the patched firmware. The vulnerability is not listed on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog as of the publication date.