Boffins release tool to decrypt Intel microcode. Have at it, x86 giant says

guest · Jul 21, 2022

Peek behind the curtain to see SGX implemented, Spectre mitigated, and more
July 20, 2022

Infosec boffins have released a tool to decrypt and unpack the microcode for a class of low-power Intel CPUs, opening up a way to look at how the chipmaker has implemented various security fixes and features as well as things like virtualization.

Published Monday on GitHub, the Intel Microcode Decryptor is a collection of three Python scripts users can execute to decode the microcode – including the SGX XuCode – of certain Atom, Pentium, and Celeron CPUs based on Intel's Goldmont and Goldmont Plus microarchitectures. The work was done by three researchers — Maxim Goryachy, Mark Ermolov, and Dmitry Skylarov — who have previously uncovered several vulnerabilities in Intel processors.
Click to expand...

In response to questions from The Register, Intel seemed fairly chilled out about the tool's release, even though the US giant said it wasn't alerted about the researchers' plans ahead of time.

An Intel spokesperson told us "there should not be any security risks" as a result of the tool's availability.
Click to expand...

This is an important achievement because it lifts the lid off the complex world of processor design.

Goryachy said the Intel Microcode Decryptor can be used to understand, for instance, how the chip giant mitigated the Spectre vulnerability in Goldmont CPUs. He added that the scripts can also help people understand how Intel has implemented various technologies, like Intel Trusted Execution Technology (TXT), Intel Software Guard Extensions (SGX), and Intel Virtualization Technology (VT-x).
Click to expand...

MicrocodeDecryptor

Description
At the beginning of 2020, we discovered the Red Unlock technique that allows extracting Intel Atom Microcode. We were able to research the internal structure of the microcode and then x86 instruction implementation. Also, we recovered a format of microcode updates, algorithm and the encryption key used to protect the microcode (see RC4).
Click to expand...

Log in or Sign up

Boffins release tool to decrypt Intel microcode. Have at it, x86 giant says

guest Guest

Log in or Sign up

Boffins release tool to decrypt Intel microcode. Have at it, x86 giant says

guest Guest

Useful Searches