# CVE-2022-32231: Privilege escalation in Intel(R) Processors

> A privileged local attacker can exploit improper BIOS initialization to escalate privileges on systems with affected Intel processors.

- **Severity:** High 7.5 (`CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H`)
- **Exploited in the wild:** Not known
- **Login needed:** An administrator
- **Attackable:** Local or same network only
- **Victim action needed:** Not needed
- **Fix available:** No
- **Published:** 16 Feb 2023
- **Updated:** 27 Jan 2025
- **Also known as:** GHSA-c3wg-pg32-p3wv

## What is CVE-2022-32231?

CVE-2022-32231 is a high-severity vulnerability in Intel(R) Processors, published on 16 Feb 2023. It can only be exploited from the same machine or local network, with no action from the victim.

### Official description

Improper initialization in the BIOS firmware for some Intel(R) Processors may allow a privileged user to potentially enable escalation of privilege via local access.

Weakness: CWE-665 (Improper Initialization)

## Which versions are affected by CVE-2022-32231?

It affects 181 products.


Products: Intel Xeon Bronze 3104 Firmware, Intel Xeon Bronze 3106 Firmware, Intel Xeon Bronze 3204 Firmware, Intel Xeon Bronze 3206r Firmware, Intel Xeon Gold 5115 Firmware, Intel Xeon Gold 5118 Firmware, Intel Xeon Gold 5119t Firmware, Intel Xeon Gold 5120 Firmware, Intel Xeon Gold 5120t Firmware, Intel Xeon Gold 5122 Firmware, Intel Xeon Gold 5215 Firmware, Intel Xeon Gold 5215l Firmware, Intel Xeon Gold 5217 Firmware, Intel Xeon Gold 5218 Firmware, Intel Xeon Gold 5218b Firmware, Intel Xeon Gold 5218n Firmware, Intel Xeon Gold 5218r Firmware, Intel Xeon Gold 5218t Firmware, Intel Xeon Gold 5220 Firmware, Intel Xeon Gold 5220r Firmware and 161 more.

## How do I fix CVE-2022-32231?

No fix has been published for CVE-2022-32231 yet. Limit exposure of the affected software until one is available.

## Is CVE-2022-32231 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of CVE-2022-32231 in the wild and no public exploit code.

## Other vulnerabilities in Intel(R) Processors

- [CVE-2022-26343](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-26343/): Privilege escalation in Intel(R) Processors (high 8.2)
- [CVE-2020-0590](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2020-0590/): Privilege escalation in Intel(R) Processors (high 7.8)
- [CVE-2019-0152](https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2019-0152/): Privilege escalation in 2019.2 IPU – Intel(R) Processor Security (medium 6.7)

## Fix prompt for AI coding agents

```text
Check this codebase for CVE-2022-32231 and fix it if it is affected.

What it is: CVE-2022-32231 is a high-severity vulnerability in Intel(R) Processors, published on 16 Feb 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-2022-32231 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Affected product: Intel(R) Processors. 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-2022-32231/ (Markdown: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-32231/index.md)
```

## Sources

- CVE record: https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2022-32231
- NVD: https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2022-32231
- OSV: https://osv.dev/vulnerability/CVE-2022-32231

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From sbomify Insights: https://insights.sbomify.com/CVE-2022-32231/
Summaries are generated and may contain mistakes; the official description above is the record.