CVE-2017-5699 in MinnowBoard 3
Summary
by MITRE
Input validation error in Intel MinnowBoard 3 Firmware versions prior to 0.65 allow local attacker to cause denial of service via UEFI APIs.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 12/24/2019
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2017-5699 represents a critical input validation flaw within the Intel MinnowBoard 3 firmware ecosystem, specifically affecting versions prior to 0.65. This issue manifests as a weakness in the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface implementation that governs the board's boot process and system initialization. The vulnerability resides in the firmware's handling of input parameters within UEFI APIs, creating a potential attack surface for local adversaries who possess physical access to the device or can execute code within the system's operational environment.
The technical flaw stems from inadequate validation of user-supplied data within the firmware's UEFI interfaces, allowing an attacker to craft malicious input sequences that can trigger unexpected behavior in the system's firmware execution flow. This particular weakness enables what is classified as a denial of service condition, where the attacker can disrupt normal system operations without requiring elevated privileges or complex exploitation techniques. The vulnerability operates at the firmware level, making it particularly concerning as it can affect system availability before the operating system has fully initialized, potentially rendering the device inoperable until manual intervention or firmware reinstallation occurs.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability creates significant risks for embedded systems and edge computing deployments that rely on the MinnowBoard 3 platform. The local nature of the attack means that physical access or the ability to execute code within the system's environment is sufficient to trigger the denial of service condition, making it particularly dangerous in environments where such access might be compromised. The attack can result in complete system unresponsiveness, requiring manual power cycling or firmware recovery procedures that can disrupt service availability. This type of vulnerability aligns with CWE-20, which categorizes input validation errors as a fundamental weakness in software security design, and can be mapped to ATT&CK technique T1068, which covers local privilege escalation and system compromise through firmware manipulation.
The remediation approach for CVE-2017-5699 requires immediate firmware updates to version 0.65 or later, which contain the necessary patches to address the input validation deficiencies. Organizations should implement comprehensive firmware inventory management to identify all affected devices and establish regular update schedules to maintain system security. Additionally, the vulnerability highlights the importance of firmware integrity verification mechanisms and secure boot implementations that can detect and prevent unauthorized firmware modifications. Security teams should also consider implementing monitoring solutions that can detect anomalous behavior patterns consistent with denial of service attacks targeting firmware interfaces, and establish incident response procedures specifically addressing firmware-level security incidents. The vulnerability underscores the critical need for robust firmware security practices throughout the device lifecycle, as firmware-level attacks can bypass traditional operating system security controls and provide attackers with persistent access to system resources.