Security readout for executives and security teams
Plain-English summary
This is a firmware-level privilege escalation in AMI Aptio 5.x. An attacker who already has high local privileges could move into System Management Mode, a layer below the operating system, potentially enabling persistent firmware compromise that survives OS reinstall.
Executive priority
Treat as high priority for affected platforms, especially servers, workstations, and systems requiring strong firmware trust. Urgency depends on whether your OEM firmware includes the vulnerable module and whether an update exists.
Technical view
CVE-2022-40261 is a CWE-120 memory corruption issue in the OverClockSmiHandler SMM driver. The supplied record identifies module GUID 4698C2BD-A903-410E-AD1F-5EEF3A1AE422 and SHA256 a204699576e1a48ce915d9d9423380c8e4c197003baf9d17e6504f0265f3039c. CVSS is 8.2 with local access and high privileges required.
Likely exposure
Systems using AMI Aptio 5.x firmware that include the identified OverClockSmiHandler SMM driver are the relevant exposure. The provided sources do not map this to specific OEM models or fixed firmware versions.
Exploitation context
The CVSS vector requires local access and high privileges. The sources describe possible ring 0 to ring -2 escalation, arbitrary SMM code execution, and potential bypass of SPI flash protections. KEV is false, and no source here confirms active exploitation.
Researcher notes
Evidence is strong for impact and affected AMI Aptio 5.x component, but incomplete for OEM distribution and fixed versions. Avoid assuming exploitation in the wild. Focus validation on firmware contents, advisory correlation, and vendor update status.
Mitigation direction
- Check AMI and OEM firmware advisories for CVE-2022-40261 guidance.
- Apply vendor-provided BIOS or UEFI firmware updates where available.
- Inventory AMI Aptio 5.x systems for the referenced SMM module GUID or hash.
- Limit local administrator and kernel-level access to reduce prerequisite attacker capability.
Validation and detection
- Confirm whether firmware contains module GUID 4698C2BD-A903-410E-AD1F-5EEF3A1AE422.
- Compare firmware component hashes against the SHA256 listed in the CVE record.
- Verify installed BIOS or UEFI versions against AMI or OEM guidance.
- Review firmware integrity controls and unexpected BIOS changes after remediation.
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 lookupExecution behavior lookup
The CVE wording references code or command execution, so execution technique review may help defensive triage. This is a Glexia inferred lookup path, not an official MITRE, ATT&CK, or CVE Program mapping.
Open ATT&CK lookupCVE-2022-40261 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
- 8.2 (3.1)
- Known Exploited
- No
- Published
Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/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:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H1.56Primary CVE scoreVulnerability scoring details
Base CVSS 3.1 score
8.2HighVector: CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:H/UI:N/S:C/C:H/I:H/A:H
Source materials
- CVE List V5 sourceCVE List V5
- https://www.ami.com/security-center/CVE reference · x_refsource_MISC
- https://www.binarly.io/advisories/BRLY-2022-003CVE 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.