Major Security Leak Reveals Risks in CPU Kernel Access: Understanding AMD and Intel’s Vulnerabilities and Protections

There is a reason that user mode and kernel mode are separate, and there is a reason that kernel mode and SMM are separate. This is a pretty big leak.

Kernel access is less difficult to gain than user access. It’s a matter of loading an old vulnerable driver and executing an exploit. AMD is pretty low on the leak here by comparison. I should be able to run a hacked kernel without my motherboard getting infected with a virus.

Tasks like these were the reason Intel removed a function from its CPUs. This has the added disadvantage that newer processors cannot play some Blu-rays with purchased software because the DRM was working with Intel’s SGX.

Especially the PSP misconfiguration, a type of God Mode processor that was put under the guise of “security”, is a big problem. That storage is protected against splashing precisely because it is a hazard. If the CPU can upgrade that thing, you can throw away your motherboard as soon as you get hit with a PSP virus.

Fortunately, this is also a leak that can be solved through firmware updates, but a leak of these proportions is indeed a problem. I personally prefer a system with a huge security hole to a system that destroys itself under load, but AMD and Intel have really stepped up with this.

[Reactie gewijzigd door GertMenkel op 11 augustus 2024 13:46]