Researchers warn that a bug in AMD’s chips would allow attackers to root into some of the most privileged portions of a computer—and that it has persisted in the company’s processors for decades.
Nissim and Okupski note that exploiting the bug would require hackers to already have obtained relatively deep access to an AMD-based PC or server, but that the Sinkclose flaw would then allow them to plant their malicious code far deeper still. In fact, for any machine with one of the vulnerable AMD chips, the IOActive researchers warn that an attacker could infect the computer with malware known as a “bootkit” that evades antivirus tools and is potentially invisible to the operating system, while offering a hacker full access to tamper with the machine and surveil its activity.
This does not require a supply chain attack, just a user ignorantly clicking yes on a UAC prompt. After which the machine is forever compromised, even after replacing ssds / hdds.
From my understanding it allows malicious code to be installed in protected memory on the CPU itself, so you can’t get rid of it once it’s there without a lot of extra work
Not quite a nothingburger
Woudn’t secure boot catch this as long as you don’t have one of the boards with the do not use key.
I know, but this requires a supply chain attack - not a likely thing to happen,
This does not require a supply chain attack, just a user ignorantly clicking yes on a UAC prompt. After which the machine is forever compromised, even after replacing ssds / hdds.
Wouldn’t it be fixed by wiping the drives and re flashing the bios ? (Or the opposite order)
From my understanding it allows malicious code to be installed in protected memory on the CPU itself, so you can’t get rid of it once it’s there without a lot of extra work