Security researchers claimed to have discovered 13 critical Spectre/Meltdown-like vulnerabilities throughout AMD's Ryzen and EPYC lines of processors that could allow attackers to access sensitive data, install persistent malware inside the chip, and gain full access to the compromised systems. All these vulnerabilities reside in the secure part of the AMD's Zen architecture processors and chipsets—typically where device stores sensitive information such as passwords and encryption keys and makes sure nothing malicious is running when you start your PC. |
The alleged vulnerabilities are categorized into four classes—RYZENFALL, FALLOUT, CHIMERA, and MASTERKEY—and threaten wide-range of servers, workstations, and laptops running vulnerable AMD Ryzen, Ryzen Pro, Ryzen Mobile or EPYC processors. Discovered by a team of researchers at Israel-based CTS-Labs, newly disclosed unpatched vulnerabilities defeat AMD's Secure Encrypted Virtualization (SEV) technology and could allow attackers to bypass Microsoft Windows Credential Guard to steal network credentials. |
While Intel and Microsoft are still managing its patches for Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities, the newly discovered vulnerabilities could create similar trouble for AMD and its customers. It's unclear how long it would take to fix these issues. CTS-Labs said it hasn't heard back from AMD. How long before a fix is available? We don't know. CTS has been in touch with industry experts to try and answer this question. According to experts, firmware vulnerabilities such as MASTERKEY, RYZENFALL and FALLOUT take several months to fix. Hardware vulnerabilities such as CHIMERA cannot be fixed and require a workaround. Producing a workaround may be difficult and cause undesired side-effects. |
