CVE-2025-21100 in Server D50DNP Board
Summary
by MITRE • 05/14/2025
Improper initialization in the UEFI firmware for the Intel(R) Server D50DNP and M50FCP boards may allow a privileged user to potentially enable information disclosure via local access.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 05/14/2025
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2025-21100 represents a critical flaw in the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface firmware implementation for specific Intel server platforms including the D50DNP and M50FCP boards. This issue stems from improper initialization of firmware components during the boot process, creating potential security exposure pathways that could be exploited by authenticated users with local access privileges. The vulnerability resides within the firmware layer rather than the operating system, making it particularly concerning for enterprise server environments where firmware security is often overlooked in traditional security assessments.
The technical root cause of this vulnerability involves inadequate initialization of memory regions or system variables within the UEFI firmware environment. When firmware components fail to properly initialize during the boot sequence, they may leave system resources in predictable or insecure states that could be manipulated by a privileged user. This improper initialization could manifest as uninitialized memory being exposed, incorrect privilege levels not being properly set, or cryptographic keys being improperly configured. The vulnerability specifically affects systems where the firmware fails to establish proper security boundaries during the early boot phase, creating opportunities for information disclosure attacks that leverage local access privileges.
From an operational impact perspective, this vulnerability presents significant risks to server environments that rely on the affected Intel platforms. The potential information disclosure could expose sensitive system data, configuration parameters, or cryptographic material that should remain protected during the boot process. Attackers with local access could potentially extract confidential information from memory regions that were not properly initialized, potentially leading to further exploitation or system compromise. The localized nature of the attack means that exploitation requires physical access or administrative privileges, but this still represents a serious threat to server security given that local access often implies elevated privilege levels within enterprise environments.
Organizations should implement immediate mitigations including firmware updates from Intel to address the improper initialization issue, proper access controls to limit local administrative privileges, and enhanced monitoring of system boot processes for unusual behavior. The vulnerability aligns with CWE-665 improper initialization, which specifically addresses insecure initialization of resources that can lead to information disclosure and other security issues. From an attack framework perspective, this vulnerability could be categorized under ATT&CK technique T1068 privilege escalation or T1547 account manipulation, as it leverages local access to potentially escalate privileges or extract sensitive information. Regular firmware inventory management and security assessments should be implemented to identify similar issues in other firmware components and ensure comprehensive protection against firmware-level vulnerabilities that could compromise enterprise server infrastructure.