# CVE-2022-27538: Race condition in HP PC BIOS

> A TOCTOU race condition in HP PC BIOS allows attackers to execute arbitrary code, cause denial of service, or disclose information.

- **Severity:** High 7.0 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/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:** No
- **Published:** 30 Jan 2023
- **Updated:** 27 Mar 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-vrcv-rg57-32pr

## What is CVE-2022-27538?

CVE-2022-27538 is a high-severity vulnerability in HP PC BIOS, published on 30 Jan 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

A potential Time-of-Check to Time-of-Use (TOCTOU) vulnerability has been identified in the BIOS for certain HP PC products which may allow arbitrary code execution, denial of service, and information disclosure. HP is releasing BIOS updates to mitigate the potential vulnerability.

Weakness: CWE-367 (Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-27538?

It affects 317 products.


Products: Hp Dragonfly Folio G3 2-in-1 Firmware, Hp Elite Dragonfly Firmware, Hp Elite Dragonfly G2 Firmware, Hp Elite Dragonfly G3 Firmware, Hp Elite Dragonfly Max Firmware, Hp Elite Mini 600 G9 Firmware, Hp Elite Mini 800 G9 Firmware, Hp Elite Sff 600 G9 Firmware, Hp Elite Sff 800 G9 Firmware, Hp Elite Slice Firmware, Hp Elite Slice G2 Firmware, Hp Elite Tower 600 G9 Firmware, Hp Elite Tower 680 G9 Firmware, Hp Elite Tower 800 G9 Firmware, Hp Elite Tower 880 G9 Firmware, Hp Elite X2 1013 G3 Firmware, Hp Elite X2 G4 Firmware, Hp Elite X2 G8 Tablet Firmware, Hp Elite X360 1040 G9 2-in-1 Firmware, Hp Elitebook 1040 G9 Firmware and 297 more.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-27538?

No fix has been published for CVE-2022-27538 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2022-27538 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-27538 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in HP PC BIOS

- [CVE-2022-31644](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-31644/): Privilege escalation in HP PC BIOS (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2022-31645](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-31645/): Race condition in HP PC BIOS (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2022-31646](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-31646/): Privilege escalation in HP PC BIOS (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2022-27537](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-27537/): Code injection in HP PC BIOS (high 7.8)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2022-27538 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-27538 is a high-severity vulnerability in HP PC BIOS, published on 30 Jan 2023. 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-2022-27538 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: HP PC BIOS. 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-2022-27538/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-27538/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-27538
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-27538
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-27538

---
From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-27538/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.