CVE-2025-24308: Intel Server UEFI Privilege Escalation

CVE-2025-24308 Overview

CVE-2025-24308 is a firmware vulnerability affecting Intel Server D50DNP and M50FCP platforms. The flaw resides in the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) error handler, which fails to properly validate input. A privileged local user can exploit this weakness to escalate privileges on the affected server. The vulnerability is categorized under [CWE-20] Improper Input Validation and impacts the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of the firmware layer. Intel disclosed the issue through Security Advisory SA-01269.

Critical Impact
Successful exploitation grants attackers elevated privileges within the UEFI firmware layer, undermining platform integrity below the operating system boundary.

Affected Products

Intel Server D50DNP family UEFI firmware
Intel Server M50FCP family UEFI firmware
Server platforms shipping the affected firmware images from Intel

Discovery Timeline

2025-05-13 - CVE-2025-24308 published to NVD
2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-24308

Vulnerability Analysis

The vulnerability sits in the UEFI firmware error handler on Intel Server D50DNP and M50FCP platforms. The error handler accepts input that is not properly validated before use. An attacker with existing privileged access on the host can supply crafted values that the handler processes without enforcing expected bounds or type constraints. This produces a state where firmware-level code paths execute using attacker-influenced data. The result is privilege escalation within the firmware execution environment, which operates below operating system protections. Because UEFI code runs early in the boot sequence and retains runtime services, control at this layer can persist across reboots and OS reinstallations. Intel documents the issue in Intel Security Advisory SA-01269.

Root Cause

The root cause is missing or insufficient input validation in the UEFI firmware error handler code path. Values reaching the handler are consumed without checks that would reject out-of-range or malformed data. This aligns with [CWE-20] Improper Input Validation.

Attack Vector

Exploitation requires local access and existing high privileges on the affected server. The attacker interacts with the firmware error handler through a locally reachable interface, then uses the validation gap to influence firmware execution and gain additional privileges.

No public proof-of-concept exploit is available for CVE-2025-24308. Refer to the Intel advisory for technical specifics not disclosed in public trackers.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-24308

Indicators of Compromise

Unexpected UEFI firmware error events logged in platform management or IPMI logs on D50DNP or M50FCP servers.
Firmware version strings that do not match the fixed release published in Intel Security Advisory SA-01269.
Unexplained changes to UEFI variables, boot order, or Secure Boot configuration on affected platforms.

Detection Strategies

Inventory Intel Server D50DNP and M50FCP systems and compare installed BIOS/UEFI versions against the fixed versions listed by Intel.
Monitor Baseboard Management Controller (BMC) and platform logs for repeated firmware error handler entries preceding privilege changes.
Integrate firmware attestation or measured boot data into the security data lake to identify drift from known-good measurements.

Monitoring Recommendations

Forward BMC, Redfish, and OS-level firmware telemetry to a centralized SIEM for correlation with privileged account activity.
Alert on administrative logons to affected servers followed by firmware update, efivar, or mokutil activity outside change windows.
Track use of privileged local accounts on D50DNP and M50FCP hosts, since the attack requires prior high privileges.

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-24308

Immediate Actions Required

Identify all Intel Server D50DNP and M50FCP systems in the environment and record their current firmware versions.
Apply the UEFI firmware update referenced in Intel Security Advisory SA-01269 as soon as a maintenance window permits.
Restrict and audit accounts with local administrative or BMC privileges on affected servers, since exploitation requires high privileges.

Patch Information

Intel has published fixed firmware for the affected server platforms through Intel Security Advisory SA-01269. Administrators should download the vendor-signed BIOS/UEFI package for the specific board revision and apply it using Intel's documented update procedure. Verify firmware version strings after update to confirm remediation.

Workarounds

Limit local and out-of-band administrative access to Intel Server D50DNP and M50FCP hosts until the firmware update is applied.
Enforce multi-factor authentication and privileged access management on BMC, iLO-equivalent, and OS administrator accounts on affected platforms.
Enable and monitor Secure Boot and firmware integrity measurements to detect tampering while patches are being staged.

bash

# Example: inventory current UEFI firmware on a Linux host
sudo dmidecode -s bios-vendor
sudo dmidecode -s bios-version
sudo dmidecode -s bios-release-date