CVE-2022-32475

Privilege escalation via VariableRuntimeDxe buffer race

Published Feb 15, 2023 · Updated May 5, 2025

TOCTOU in InsydeH2O kernel 5.0 through 5.5 allows local users to corrupt SMRAM and escalate privileges via DMA. VariableRuntimeDxe shares a buffer between SMM and non-SMM code without preventing DMA changes between validation and use. Insyde identifies high-privilege local access as the gate, and exploitation corrupts protected firmware memory to gain higher privileges.

CVSS severity8.2
High
EPSS probability0.13%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

TOCTOU in InsydeH2O kernel 5.0 through 5.5 allows local users to corrupt SMRAM and escalate privileges via DMA. VariableRuntimeDxe shares a buffer between SMM and non-SMM code without preventing DMA changes between validation and use. Insyde identifies high-privilege local access as the gate, and exploitation corrupts protected firmware memory to gain higher privileges.

The record

CVE
CVE-2022-32475
Published
Feb 15, 2023
Updated
May 5, 2025
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-367, T1068
Attack vector
local
Privileges
admin

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Feb 15, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. May 5, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectorlocal
Required privilegesadmin

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

7.0NIST NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
7.0CISA ADPCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:H/A:H
8.2Insyde SoftwareCVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectorlocal
Privilegesadmin
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-367Time-of-check Time-of-use (TOCTOU) Race Condition
T1068Exploitation for Privilege Escalation

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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