# CVE-2018-12205: Security feature bypass in Intel Platform Sample / Silicon Reference firmware

> Improper certificate validation in Intel Core firmware allows unauthenticated users with physical access to escalate privileges.

- **Severity:** Medium 6.8 (`CVSS:3.0/AV:P/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** Not needed
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** Yes
- **Published:** 14 Mar 2019
- **Updated:** 16 Sep 2024
- **Also known as:** GHSA-9x39-g9g5-p55p, UBUNTU-CVE-2018-12205

## What is CVE-2018-12205?

CVE-2018-12205 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Intel Platform Sample / Silicon Reference firmware, published on 14 Mar 2019. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Improper certificate validation in Platform Sample/ Silicon Reference firmware for 8th Generation Intel(R) Core(tm) Processor, 7th Generation Intel(R) Core(tm) Processor may allow an unauthenticated user to potentially enable an escalation of privilege via physical access.

Weakness: CWE-295 (Improper Certificate Validation)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2018-12205?

It affects 2 products.


Products: Intel Platform Sample Firmware, Intel Silicon Reference Firmware.

## How do I fix CVE-2018-12205?

Apply the vendor's patch.

## Is CVE-2018-12205 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2018-12205 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Intel Platform Sample / Silicon Reference firmware

- [CVE-2018-12201](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-12201/): Memory corruption in Intel Platform Sample / Silicon Reference firmware (medium 6.7)
- [CVE-2018-12202](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-12202/): Privilege escalation in Intel Platform Sample / Silicon Reference firmware (medium 6.7)
- [CVE-2018-12203](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-12203/): Denial of service in Intel Platform Sample / Silicon Reference firmware (medium 6.7)
- [CVE-2018-12204](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-12204/): Privilege escalation in Intel Platform Sample / Silicon Reference firmware (medium 6.7)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2018-12205 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2018-12205 is a medium-severity vulnerability in Intel Platform Sample / Silicon Reference firmware, published on 14 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-2018-12205 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Intel Platform Sample / Silicon Reference firmware. 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-2018-12205/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-12205/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2018-12205
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2018-12205
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2018-12205

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2018-12205/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.