Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This is a denial-of-service risk in specific ASUS BMC firmware versions. A highly privileged remote user can enter an overly long string in the BMC web management UEFI configuration function and crash the web service. The sources do not show data theft, privilege escalation, or active exploitation.
Executive priority
Treat this as a targeted availability issue, not a broad emergency. Prioritize internet-exposed or widely reachable BMC management interfaces because a crash can disrupt remote administration of server hardware.
Technical view
The UEFI configuration function on affected ASUS BMC firmware web pages lacks user-supplied string length checks, causing a CWE-120 buffer overflow. CVSS 3.1 is 4.9: network reachable, low complexity, high privileges required, no confidentiality or integrity impact, high availability impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is limited to ASUS BMC firmware for Z10PR-D16 1.14.51, ASMB8-iKVM 1.14.51, and Z10PE-D16 WS 1.14.2. Risk rises where BMC web management is reachable by many administrators or from broad networks.
Exploitation context
The provided sources describe remote attack after obtaining privileged permission. CISA KEV is false in the bundle, and no cited source states active exploitation or public exploit availability. The documented outcome is abnormal termination of the BMC web service.
Researcher notes
Evidence supports a CWE-120 buffer overflow in the web UEFI configuration path with PR:H and availability-only impact. The bundle does not provide exploit details, patch versions, proof of exploitation, or deeper root-cause information beyond missing string length validation.
Mitigation direction
- Check ASUS and TWCERT guidance for fixed firmware or vendor-approved workarounds.
- Restrict BMC web management to isolated administrative networks or VPN-only access.
- Limit privileged BMC accounts to necessary administrators and review account ownership.
- Monitor BMC web service availability and investigate unexpected restarts or crashes.
- Prioritize replacement or firmware updates for confirmed affected versions.
Validation and detection
- Inventory ASUS BMC devices and record exact firmware versions.
- Confirm whether affected BMC web interfaces are reachable over the network.
- Review BMC administrator accounts for unnecessary privileged access.
- Check logs or monitoring for abnormal web service termination events.
- Compare installed firmware against ASUS and TWCERT advisory information.
Public sources used
Generated from the cited source records. This long-tail analysis has not been individually reviewed by a named human.
Conservative CVE-to-ATT&CK context
These mappings and lookup hints may be relevant to the vulnerability behavior, CWE, affected product, or exposure path. Glexia-inferred context is not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, CWE, or CVE Program mapping.
ATT&CK lookup starting points
Use these exact CWE pages and searches to review the Glexia ATT&CK library from this CVE's weakness and description context.
CWE-120: Exact CWE lookup
Use the exact CWE identifier as the starting point before reviewing related ATT&CK behavior. Open the exact CWE lookup page first, then review the ATT&CK searches from that MITRE weakness context. This is a Glexia lookup hint, not an official ATT&CK mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2021-28178 mapping review
Open the CVE-to-ATT&CK bridge for reviewed, inferred, or future official mappings tied to this CVE.
Open ATT&CK lookup- Severity
- Medium
- CVSS
- 4.9 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
CNA and ADP enrichment extracted from CVE v5
These fields come from the CVE record and ADP containers, not from Glexia's Take. They preserve time-varying source decisions such as CISA SSVC, KEV status, CVSS metrics, and provider references.
CVSS vector scores
1 official scoreWe collect every scored CVSS vector available in the official CNA and ADP containers. When more than one version is present, the table keeps the source vectors side by side instead of collapsing them into the highest score.
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H1.23.6Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
4.9MediumVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.asus.com/content/ASUS-Product-Security-Advisory/CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://www.asus.com/tw/support/callus/CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://www.twcert.org.tw/tw/cp-132-4548-7a2c6-1.htmlCVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
Products and packages named in the record
CWE details
CWE links open Glexia weakness intelligence pages with official CWE context, developer remediation guidance, and related CVE mappings.
Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input ('Classic Buffer Overflow')
Buffer Copy without Checking Size of Input ('Classic Buffer Overflow') represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.