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 entirely a nothing burger, I think. If there’s any truth to the anti-cheat outrage, there’s a large population of average joes handing out ring 0 access to a growing number of third or fourth party companies for the purpose of kernel level anti-cheat in video games.
Still a supply chain attack or a vulnerability in one of the A/C programs, but not as impossible as we would like it to be.
I really dislike the idea of “needs ring 0 = nothingburger”.
There’s plenty if ways to gain ring 0 access like a user to approving a UAC prompt… Or for an attacker to utilize any number of existing ring 0 escalation vulnerabilities on an unpatched system, or for a UAC bypass to be utilized, or for the attacker to establish a RAT on the system using a tech support scam or similar.
Difficult? Yes!
Only viable via a supply chain attack as some like to suggest? Absolutely not.
Requires ring 0 access to the system in the first place. So for any normal user it’s a nothing burger
Not quite a nothingburger
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
Woudn’t secure boot catch this as long as you don’t have one of the boards with the do not use key.
Not entirely a nothing burger, I think. If there’s any truth to the anti-cheat outrage, there’s a large population of average joes handing out ring 0 access to a growing number of third or fourth party companies for the purpose of kernel level anti-cheat in video games.
Still a supply chain attack or a vulnerability in one of the A/C programs, but not as impossible as we would like it to be.
I really dislike the idea of “needs ring 0 = nothingburger”.
There’s plenty if ways to gain ring 0 access like a user to approving a UAC prompt… Or for an attacker to utilize any number of existing ring 0 escalation vulnerabilities on an unpatched system, or for a UAC bypass to be utilized, or for the attacker to establish a RAT on the system using a tech support scam or similar.
Difficult? Yes!
Only viable via a supply chain attack as some like to suggest? Absolutely not.