Flaws found in Intel Management Engine (ME), TXE and SPS

AMDMan2016 · 27 Nov 2017

Same with Asus, seems clueless when I emailed them on this issue, so far just replied keep checking your Driver & Tools section for your model or Asus news section for further updates.

", we have taken your information and it has document for review to provide a solution once available. Note that once an update is available regarding a possible options for the issue reported, we will update you and all our valued customers at that point. Please feel free to check here for any update on this or anything else at anytime: https://www.asus.com/News/"

Guess all I can do now is continue to wait

fdegrove · 27 Nov 2017

Hi,

have an issue where their latest IRST drivers (15.9.0.1015) crash my board. Also found their IME driver listed as version 11.8.50.3420, is NOT what's being downloaded. When downloading from any server I get version 11.7.0.1050. Yet when installed it shows up as version 11.7.0.1045 (dated 10/3/2017).

The drivers show a differnt version number then the MEI software. That's normal for that version and the latest one as well.
Which is 10.7.0.1054, drivers are still 1045.

Cheers,

larc919 · 27 Nov 2017

AMDMan2016 said:

Same with Asus, seems clueless when I emailed them on this issue, so far just replied keep checking your Driver & Tools section for your model or Asus news section for further updates.

ASUS is definitely not clueless. They have issued an ME Update Tool for some of their affected motherboards. This is the entry for the Prime Z270-A (posted 11-22):

MEUpdateTool
Intel has identified security issue that could potentially place impacted platform at risk. Use ME Update tool to update your ME.
*We suggest you update ME Driver to the latest Version 11.7.0.1040 simultaneously.
Please download the file and check the MD5 code first.

AMDMan2016 · 27 Nov 2017

Hmmm no tool on my system download page yet, System is G11CD , unknown motherboard inside, as can't find any info on that aspect

sygnus21 · 27 Nov 2017

fdegrove said:

The drivers show a differnt version number then the MEI software. That's normal for that version and the latest one as well.
Which is 10.7.0.1054, drivers are still 1045.

I'm not sure you read my post completely. Anyway...

sygnus21 said:

Their latest BIOS for my board (F7) has been around since July 2017 to "Update CPU micro code to fix HT flaw issue". Yet much later they added a second line stating the BIOS also "Update intel ME for security vulnerabilities". This second line wasn't there when I updated the BIOS in July.

Gigabyte confirmed my suspicion that line #2 of the F7 BIOS in the USA was added later as shown by two different locations...

Gigabyte USA....

Flaws found in Intel Management Engine (ME), TXE and SPS-f7-bios-usa.png

Gigabyte Global....

Flaws found in Intel Management Engine (ME), TXE and SPS-f7-bios-global.png

In fact they initially denied my claim that line 2 was there until I pointed them to the USA site. With that they say they'll have to contact Gigabyte headquarters to sort the issue. Bottom line is the F7 BIOS is NOT a fix for the IME flaw. And that both BIOS's are the same July BIOS addressing the HT flaw only. Those needing a BIOS update for the Z270 boards addressing the IME flaw will have to wait till then.

Runnerbean · 28 Nov 2017

Before

Flaws found in Intel Management Engine (ME), TXE and SPS-security.png

After

Flaws found in Intel Management Engine (ME), TXE and SPS-security-2.png

Kbird · 29 Nov 2017

AMDMan2016 said:

Hmmm no tool on my system download page yet, System is G11CD , unknown motherboard inside, as can't find any info on that aspect

it's usually silk screened on the MB PCB ...... try opening the case and look...

or enter the Bios and see what the ME Version is....as far as I know if it is less than 11.0 like my Asus X99A-II (9.1.37) it is not vulnerable , only machines with an ME Firmware above 11 are effected.

Flaws found in Intel Management Engine (ME), TXE and SPS-image.png

Cliff S · 29 Nov 2017

Kbird said:

it's usually silk screened on the MB PCB ...... try opening the case and look...

or enter the Bios and see what the ME Version is....as far as I know if it is less than 11.0 like my Asus X99A-II (9.1.37) it is not vulnerable , only machines with an ME Firmware above 11 are effected.

The easy way is open Device Manager

Flaws found in Intel Management Engine (ME), TXE and SPS-image-001.png

ThrashZone · 29 Nov 2017

Hi,
Yep bad

Flaws found in Intel Management Engine (ME), TXE and SPS-ime-bad.png

Uninstalled IME and the detection tool is having fun trying to figure out if I'm still at risk lol

Geneo · 29 Nov 2017

Cliff S said:

The easy way is open Device Manager

I believe the Intel tool is showing you the ME firmware version in the BIOS. The Device Manager is showing you the OS driver version. They can be very different. For instance, I am running 9.0.x firmware but 11.x version driver and I am not vulnerable. Don't go by the Windows ME driver version.