Vulnerability Monitor

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CVE-2021-38576


A BIOS bug in firmware for a particular PC model leaves the Platform authorization value empty. This can be used to permanently brick the TPM in multiple ways, as well as to non-permanently DoS the system.


Security Impact Summary

This vulnerability carries a HIGH severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.5, indicating it can be exploited remotely over the network with relatively low complexity without requiring user interaction and does not require pre-existing privileges . The vulnerability impacts and availability (service disruption) for affected systems. Impacting 1 product from tianocore organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.

Historical Context

Reported in 2022, this vulnerability emerged during an era marked by increased sophistication in supply chain attacks, cloud infrastructure vulnerabilities, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) security challenges. Security practices during this period emphasized zero-trust architectures, container security, and API protection.


Published

2022-01-03T22:15:09.903

Last Modified

2025-11-03T20:15:49.640

Status

Modified

Source

[email protected]

Severity

CVSSv3.1: 7.5 (HIGH)

CVSSv2 Vector

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:C

  • Access Vector: NETWORK
  • Access Complexity: LOW
  • Authentication: NONE
  • Confidentiality Impact: NONE
  • Integrity Impact: NONE
  • Availability Impact: COMPLETE
Exploitability Score

10.0

Impact Score

6.9

Weaknesses
  • Type: Primary
    NVD-CWE-noinfo

Affected Vendors & Products
Type Vendor Product Version/Range Vulnerable?
Application tianocore edk2 201808 Yes
Application tianocore edk2 201811 Yes
Application tianocore edk2 201903 Yes
Application tianocore edk2 201905 Yes
Application tianocore edk2 201908 Yes
Application tianocore edk2 201911 Yes
Application tianocore edk2 202002 Yes
Application tianocore edk2 202005 Yes
Application tianocore edk2 202008 Yes
Application tianocore edk2 202011 Yes
Application tianocore edk2 202102 Yes
Application tianocore edk2 202105 Yes

References

How SecUtils Interprets This CVE

SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For tianocore's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.