# CVE-2018-12179: Privilege escalation in Extensible Firmware Interface Development Kit (EDK II)

> Unauthenticated local attackers can exploit improper EDK II firmware configuration to escalate privileges, disclose information, or cause denial of service.

- **Severity:** High 7.8 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Any signed-in user
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 27 Mar 2019
- **Updated:** 5 Aug 2024
- **Also known as:** DEBIAN-CVE-2018-12179, GHSA-q4p4-w8wc-6x23

## What is CVE-2018-12179?

CVE-2018-12179 is a high-severity vulnerability in Extensible Firmware Interface Development Kit (EDK II), published on 27 Mar 2019. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Improper configuration in system firmware for EDK II may allow unauthenticated user to potentially enable escalation of privilege, information disclosure and/or denial of service via local access.

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-12179?

It affects 1 product.


Products: Tianocore Edk Ii.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-12179?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2018-12179 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-12179 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Extensible Firmware Interface Development Kit (EDK II)

- [CVE-2018-12178](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-12178/): Memory corruption in Extensible Firmware Interface Development Kit (EDK II) (critical 9.1)
- [CVE-2021-28216](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2021-28216/): Memory corruption in EDK II (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2018-3613](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-3613/): Privilege escalation in Extensible Firmware Interface Development Kit (EDK II) (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2019-11098](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-11098/): Other in Tianocore (medium 6.8)
- [CVE-2018-12183](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-12183/): Memory corruption in Extensible Firmware Interface Development Kit (EDK II) (medium 6.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-12179 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-12179 is a high-severity vulnerability in Extensible Firmware Interface Development Kit (EDK II), published on 27 Mar 2019. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.
Exploitation: There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-12179 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Extensible Firmware Interface Development Kit (EDK II). No package-level version data is available, so check the vendor advisory linked from the reference page.

Task:
1. Search the dependency manifests and lockfiles (for example package.json, package-lock.json, requirements.txt, poetry.lock, uv.lock, pom.xml, build.gradle, go.mod, Cargo.lock, Gemfile.lock) and any Dockerfiles for the affected packages, including transitive dependencies.
2. If an affected version is in use, upgrade it to the fixed version for its release line with the project's package manager, so the lockfile is regenerated. Prefer the smallest upgrade that fixes it.
3. If there is no fix, or the upgrade would break the build, do not guess: explain the risk and the safest workaround instead.
4. Run the tests and summarise what changed and why.
5. If nothing in the project is affected, say so and change nothing.

Reference: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-12179/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-12179/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-12179
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-12179
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-12179

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-12179/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.