There has been reports that Intel’s chipsets namely the Core Gen series 6,7 and 8 are involved in the vulnerabilities detected allowing remote attackers gain full control of a targeted computer. Research groups discovered the remote administration feature which is known as Management Engine a tool used by IT admin to manage and repair systems remotely, this tool is now at security risk.
Since ME has full access to all data in the computer including system memory and network adapters, bad actors could potentially take advantage of the flaw and execute malicious codes to completely take over the platform. The unfortunate news is that there’s no possibility to disable the ME feature to protect against any possible exploitation.
Having since then, Intel has announced a firmware and software update addressing the problem have been made available. It has also released a diagnostic tool (for Linux, Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 8.1 and Windows 7) for users to check if their system has been affected and download an update a programme that will plug the security hole. Listed chipset that are vulnerable are not just desktop version, they also include those used in commercial like the Atom E3900 Celeron N used in digital surveillance, industrial automation and vehicle infotainment system. These application will find it difficult to run simple diagnostic as suggested by Intel, in fact the custom use of the chipset in these industries will render tools delivered by the chip maker useless.
Positive Technologies Research were the first to discover the flaw and raised an alarm on the issue, since then Intel has reacted with the detection tools and vows to review its source code for vulnerabilities.
Below is the list of the processor chipsets which include the vulnerable firmware:
- 6th, 7th and 8th Generation Intel Core processors
- Xeon E3-1200 v5 and v6 processors
- Xeon Scalable processors
- Xeon W processors
- Atom C3000 processors
- Apollo Lake Atom E3900 series
- Apollo Lake Pentiums
- Celeron N and J series processors
