Questions tagged [intel]
For security questions specifically related to Intel processors or other Intel hardware.
36 questions
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What's next for hardware-level security features?
Seems like there's been a lot of hardware-enabled security features released for x64 in the last few years. MPX (albeit that's since been deprecated), MBEC, CET with indirect branch control and shadow ...
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Which Intel CPUs do not have Management Engine (ME) [duplicate]
The Intel Management Engine (ME) is a security risk which I would prefer not to take. I do not trust it, it seems to be a backdoor, and there are reported vulnerabilities on it.
I do not trust the ...
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Intel CET more secure than AMD Shadow Stack?
I'm trying to decide between AMD or Intel for a new build. I was reading about protection from ROP-attacks and it seems like Intel and AMD are handling this in different ways.
AMD Zen 3 and later ...
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What is the difference between Soft mode and HAP mode for disabling Intel ME?
Today is finally arrived the Dasharo Firmware with the option to disable the Intel ME from bios.
My question is: Which method is better? Soft or HAP? I actually choose soft, and seems no problem given....
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How do you detect attacks on Intel ME firmware and the AMD equivalent?
Since there are quite a few exploits of Intel ME firmware in the CPU (same applies to AMD), I would like to know what SIEM solutions are there for detecting these kinds of attacks.
To be more exact, I ...
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What is the function of Intel's Total Memory Encryption (TME)?
https://edc.intel.com/content/www/us/en/design/ipla/software-development-platforms/client/platforms/alder-lake-desktop/12th-generation-intel-core-processors-datasheet-volume-1-of-2/002/intel-multi-key-...
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What is the latest version of ThinkPad laptops that doesn't have Intel Management Engine or similar remote controller built-in?
I work in cybersecurity and would like to find an older laptop that doesn't have the Intel Management Engine built-in, while still able to run a Debian OS well.
I have an IBM ThinkPad t42 with 42T0273 ...
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Feasibility of CPU Backdoors
Recently I was thinking of the feasibility of hardware backdoors in the CPU introduced by manufacturers at the behest of three letter agencies. I can think of two potential backdoors that seem ...
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Intel Ethernet Driver Advanced Settings for Security/Privacy
There are some settings found on Device Manager > Ethernet Driver > Advanced Tab.
Are there suggestions for any of these settings? or any suggestion to improve ethernet driver security?
Adaptive ...
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INTEL-SA-00086 extracting the secret key used to encrypt Intel CPU code: is the digital signature bypassed?
In a recent attack to INTEL-SA-00086, the researchers are able to extract the secret key that encrypts updates to various Intel CPUs.
In the arstechnica blog it is mentioned as
The key may also allow ...
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FLUSH + RELOAD Proof of Concept - Why do we need to flush more than needed?
Problem
I am putting together a proof of concept for the FLUSH + RELOAD attack. The method is outlined in great detail in this paper. The general idea is simple - cached addresses can be accessed with ...
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Is it possible to debunk Intel Management Engine conspiracy theories using a data usage monitor device?
If there would be any backdoor in recent Intel CPU's, then it should send and receive data secretly.
Isn't it possible to easily debunk this conspiracy theory by implementing a third physical device ...
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How can access to Intel ME / AMT be disabled with firewall? [duplicate]
Short of flashing BIOS, there seems to be no way to disable the Intel ME.
So, is there a reliable way to block access to Intel ME, such using HW firewall (Firewall in front of the machine, not ...
- 1,771
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Sacrificing 30% of my CPU performance (by disabling Hyper-Threading) to fully mitigate CPU vulnerabilities, necessary?
I used the spectre-meltdown-checker, version 0.42, without any option resulting in all-green results. But, in a help page, I found the --paranoid switch, which resulted in about a half of later CVEs ...
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Ring -3 exploits and existence of other rings
Concept of Rings
Rings were introduced in the forerunner of UNIX, Multics, and had 8 rings for reading, writing, executing and calling (I don't quite understand why it needed 8 rings to do this, if ...
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A new exploit in town: SWAPGS. How and why did it happen?
Apparently, there's a new speculative execution exploit in town on Intel CPUs: SWAPGS. It takes research on Meltdown and Spectre to the next level and targets the root of the CPU.
This is not the ...
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How would one compare Cache Allocating Technology against MIT's Dynamically Allocated Way Guard for prevention of the Spectre side-channel Attack?
Upon research, I'm finding it difficult to identify a way to compare each solution. Is it correct in saying both solutions are software based? Therefore, could I compare overall PC perfomance with ...
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What are the new MDS attacks, and how can they be mitigated?
Several new hardware side-channels were discovered called MDS attacks, which allow reading arbitrary memory, like Meltdown. Many existing mitigations are useless against them. The relevant CVEs are:
...
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What CPUs does the Spoiler attack affect?
I see on different websites different information about the Spoiler Attack. Some websites say all Intel CPUs are vulnerable and other websites say only Intel Core CPUs are vulnerable.
Are Intel Xeon ...
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How dangerous is the ME on non-vPro CPUs?
I’ve seen plenty of Intel ME vulnerabilities and other security-related issues with the co-processor. However, most seem to be focusing on the extended ME features available on vPro CPUs, which allow ...
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New CVE-2018-5407 "PortSmash vulnerablity" in Intel CPU
I just heard in the news: Intel CPUs impacted by new PortSmash side-channel vulnerability. Is it as threatening as Meltdown/Spectre? Is it patched? What should we do to be safe? Does it affect AMD CPU'...
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Are new AMD processors more secure than Intel ones?
Since the discovery of Meltdown and Spectre, CPU security has been compromised and trust to the main manufacturers reduced, particularly Intel. 8 months later I wonder, what CPUs are more secure at ...
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Privacy implications of Intel CPU backdoors [closed]
I didn't follow all the episodes about backdoors in Intel CPUs
What can intelligence or law enforcement agencies potentially do on a computer equipped with a vulnerable Intel CPU (connected to the ...
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Minimum set of ACS features to secure remote PCIe devices
According to a Google blog post from 2017, Google has been experimenting with providing raw access to PCIe devices in a remote environment. They set out to discover what Access Control Service ...
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Extracting passwords from recycled machine using Spectre and Meltdown
With Spectre and Meltdown, hackers can extract your password from the CPU cache. If I give someone my computer without the hard drive, can he extract my passwords through the CPU?
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What is Silent Lake?
The Wikipédia's TEE entry mentions a hardware technology called Silent Lake that can support TEE implementations:
The following embedded hardware technologies can be used to support
TEE ...
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Are new Intel CPUs vulnerable to Meltdown/Spectre?
Has Intel released any information about new processors?
According to their advisory a number of processors are susceptible, but it says nothing about when new processors will be fixed. Also Meltdown ...
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Why does my unpatched system *appear* to not be vulnerable to Spectre?
Since the corresponding research papers offer quite explicit descriptions publicly, I suppose that publishing my code below is not considered as encouraging or endorsing exploits. Nevertheless, I am ...
- 1,158
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Intel firmware/microcode updates that make processors "immune" to both Spectre and Meltdown?
Recently Intel has claimed the following in a press release (emphasis added):
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Jan. 4, 2018 — Intel has developed and is rapidly issuing updates for all types of Intel-based ...
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Why are AMD processors not/less vulnerable to Meltdown and Spectre?
I’ve read up on Meltdown and Spectre and it’s not obvious to me why AMD would be less vulnerable. Do AMD processors simply not have speculative execution? Or do they have some way of not exploding the ...
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Does recent Intel hardware mitigate Meltdown at the hardware level?
Recently a security researcher made the following claim via Twitter (emphasis added):
If you're running Windows, I'm about to publish a tool that checks if you have the "Variant 3: rogue data cache ...
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What was state of the art knowledge on security of speculative evaluation when it was introduced to Intel CPUs?
Many sources claim that almost all Intel x86 CPUs back to Pentium Pro are vulnerable to the Meltdown attack. Pentium Pro was introduced to the market in 1995.
What was the state of the art knowledge ...
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Do the Spectre and Meltdown CPU bugs affect AMD in addition to Intel?
If a server or or PC is running AMD CPUs, will those be affected by the Spectre and/or Meltdown bugs currently effecting Intel chips?
Why or why not?
What makes it affect one and not the other? How ...
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How does the Intel CPU design flaw affect us? [closed]
Today, I saw this in the news. I'm hesitant to install the fix, because I've heard it would slow down IO 50%, which is not acceptable for me.
But a guy said that the flaw allows JavaScript in the ...
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KPTI - Meltdown - PoC Analysis
Based on this PoC:
https://twitter.com/brainsmoke/status/948561799875502080
I see there are four rows outputed, the second one are two bytes of address of sys_read. What is the first one? Would ...
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How can anyone access Intel's "backdoor OS", MINIX?
I've read that all recent Intel-based machines include a secret MINIX-based OS, and that it even includes its own web-server.
How does one access this OS's services from the main OS?
Its purpose ...
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