CVE-2019-14570 in NUC
Summary
by MITRE
Memory corruption in system firmware for Intel(R) NUC may allow a privileged user to potentially enable escalation of privilege, denial of service and/or information disclosure via local access.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 10/03/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2019-14570 represents a critical memory corruption flaw within the system firmware of Intel NUC (Next Unit of Computing) devices. This vulnerability specifically affects the firmware implementation of Intel NUC platforms, which are compact computing devices designed for various enterprise and consumer applications. The flaw resides in the firmware layer that manages low-level system operations and hardware interactions, making it particularly dangerous as it operates at a privileged level within the system architecture.
The technical nature of this vulnerability stems from improper memory handling within the firmware code, leading to potential memory corruption conditions that can be exploited by malicious actors with local access privileges. The flaw allows for arbitrary memory manipulation through specific firmware interfaces or system calls that are not properly validated or sanitized. This memory corruption can manifest in multiple ways including buffer overflows, use-after-free conditions, or other memory management errors that compromise the integrity of the firmware execution environment. The vulnerability is classified under CWE-125 as an out-of-bounds read condition, which aligns with the memory corruption characteristics described in the CVE.
From an operational perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risks to Intel NUC deployments as it can be exploited by privileged local users who have access to the system. The potential impacts include privilege escalation, where an attacker could gain elevated system privileges beyond their initial access level, effectively compromising the entire system. Additionally, the vulnerability enables denial of service conditions that could render the device inoperable or cause system instability. Information disclosure capabilities allow attackers to potentially extract sensitive data from the system memory, including system configuration details, user credentials, or other confidential information stored within the firmware or system memory spaces. The local access requirement means that exploitation typically requires physical access or network access to a compromised system, but once achieved, the impact can be severe.
The exploitation of this vulnerability aligns with several tactics described in the MITRE ATT&CK framework, particularly those related to privilege escalation and defense evasion. Attackers could leverage this flaw to establish persistent access within the system while maintaining stealth through firmware-level modifications that are difficult to detect through conventional security monitoring. The vulnerability affects the system's integrity at the firmware level, making traditional operating system-based security controls less effective in preventing exploitation.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2019-14570 should focus on firmware updates provided by Intel to address the memory corruption issues within the NUC system firmware. Organizations should prioritize applying the official firmware patches released by Intel to remediate the vulnerability. Additionally, implementing strict access controls and monitoring for unauthorized local access to NUC devices can help reduce the attack surface. System administrators should also consider network segmentation and monitoring to detect potential exploitation attempts. The vulnerability highlights the importance of firmware security and the need for regular firmware updates as part of overall cybersecurity management practices. Organizations utilizing Intel NUC devices should conduct thorough vulnerability assessments and implement proper access controls to minimize exposure to this type of firmware-level attack.