Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This is an AMD EPYC firmware vulnerability that could let an unauthenticated network attacker disrupt affected systems by triggering a sensitive memory overwrite inside AMD platform security components. The cited sources describe denial of service impact, not data theft or code execution, and do not report active exploitation.
Executive priority
Treat as a high-priority availability risk for AMD EPYC server fleets, especially critical services and shared infrastructure. The business decision is mainly firmware governance: identify affected platforms, obtain OEM guidance, and schedule updates with outage planning.
Technical view
CVE-2021-46764 is an improper DRAM address validation issue in the SMU, mapped to CWE-787. AMD says it may allow overwriting sensitive memory locations within the ASP, potentially causing denial of service. CVSS 3.1 is 7.5 with network attack vector, low complexity, no privileges, no user interaction, and availability-only impact.
Likely exposure
Exposure is most relevant to infrastructure using listed 2nd Gen or 3rd Gen AMD EPYC platforms with affected AGESA firmware. Actual exposure depends on platform firmware and OEM or provider update status; the supplied data does not identify exact vulnerable version ranges.
Exploitation context
The CVE record rates this as remotely reachable and unauthenticated by CVSS, but the provided sources do not describe public exploitation, exploit maturity, or inclusion in CISA KEV. Treat exploitation evidence as incomplete rather than assuming active attacks.
Researcher notes
The source bundle leaves key details unspecified, including exact affected AGESA versions, fixed versions, and practical exploitability. Analysis should stay anchored to AMD-SB-3001 and OEM firmware mappings. Do not infer confidentiality or integrity impact beyond the stated memory overwrite leading to denial of service.
Mitigation direction
- Review AMD-SB-3001 for affected platform and AGESA guidance.
- Check server OEM advisories for corresponding BIOS or firmware updates.
- Prioritize updates for internet-facing, shared, or high-availability EPYC systems.
- Document exceptions where OEM firmware is unavailable or not applicable.
Validation and detection
- Inventory servers using 2nd Gen and 3rd Gen AMD EPYC processors.
- Record BIOS, firmware, and AGESA versions from asset management sources.
- Compare platform versions against AMD and OEM advisory guidance.
- Confirm cloud or hosting providers have addressed affected EPYC hosts.
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-787: 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-2021-46764 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
- High
- CVSS
- 7.5 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/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:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H3.93.6Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
7.5HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.amd.com/en/corporate/product-security/bulletin/AMD-SB-3001CVE reference · vendor-advisory
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.
Out-of-bounds Write
Out-of-bounds Write represents a recurring weakness pattern that can create exploitable paths when design, validation, or implementation controls are missing.