Software that can extract microcode of Intel CPU will be released
Most CPUs on the market in recent years have adopted an implementation method called the microprogram method , and updates can be applied by rewriting the microcode when a security defect is found. CPU makers such as Intel and AMD basically do not disclose the contents of microcode, but hardware researchers have released software that can extract microcode of some Intel CPUs.
chip-red-pill / Microcode Decryptor
https://github.com/chip-red-pill/MicrocodeDecryptor
The software for extracting microcode from Intel CPUs was developed by hardware researchers Maxim Goryachy , Mark Ermolov , Dmitry Sklyarov and others.
According to Goryachy, the developed software can extract microcode by activating debug mode using the vulnerability ' Red Unlock ' of Intel CPU. The microcode is RC4 encrypted, but the development team succeeded in getting the decryption keys for the Apollo Lake and Gemini Lake generations. This made it possible to extract the following CPU microcodes.
| model | architecture |
| Pentium J4205 | Goldmont, Apollo Lake |
| Celeron J3455 | Goldmont, Apollo Lake |
| Celeron J3355 | Goldmont, Apollo Lake |
| Pentium N4200 | Goldmont, Apollo Lake |
| Celeron N3450 | Goldmont, Apollo Lake |
| Celeron N3350 | Goldmont, Apollo Lake |
| Atom x7 E3940 | Goldmont, Apollo Lake |
| Atom x5 E3930 | Goldmont, Apollo Lake |
| Atom x7 A3960 | Goldmont, Apollo Lake |
| Atom x7 A3950 | Goldmont, Apollo Lake |
| Atom x5 A3940 | Goldmont, Apollo Lake |
| Atom x5 A3930 | Goldmont, Apollo Lake |
| Atom C3958 | Goldmont, Denverton |
| Atom C3955 | Goldmont, Denverton |
| Atom C3858 | Goldmont, Denverton |
| Atom C3850 | Goldmont, Denverton |
| Atom C3830 | Goldmont, Denverton |
| Atom C3808 | Goldmont, Denverton |
| Atom C3758 | Goldmont, Denverton |
| Atom C3750 | Goldmont, Denverton |
| Atom C3708 | Goldmont, Denverton |
| Atom C3558 | Goldmont, Denverton |
| Atom C3538 | Goldmont, Denverton |
| Atom C3508 | Goldmont, Denverton |
| Atom C3338 | Goldmont, Denverton |
| Atom C3308 | Goldmont, Denverton |
| Pentium Silver J5005 | Goldmont Plus, Gemini Lake |
| Celeron J4105 | Goldmont Plus, Gemini Lake |
| Celeron J4005 | Goldmont Plus, Gemini Lake |
| Pentium Silver N5000 | Goldmont Plus, Gemini Lake |
| Celeron N4100 | Goldmont Plus, Gemini Lake |
| Celeron N4000 | Goldmont Plus, Gemini Lake |
| Pentium Silver N5030 | Goldmont Plus, Gemini Lake Refresh |
| Celeron N4120 | Goldmont Plus, Gemini Lake Refresh |
| Celeron N4020 | Goldmont Plus, Gemini Lake Refresh |
By extracting and analyzing microcode, Goryachy explored Intel's security technology ' Intel TXT ' and virtualization support technology ' VT-x ', and the vulnerability Specter that became a big topic in 2018 It states that it can understand Intel's response to '.
Today we've published Intel Microcode decryptor! It gives you an amazing opportunity for researching x86 platforms. You can understand how Intel mitigated spectre vulnerability, explore the implementation of Intel TXT, SGX, VT-x technologies! Enjoy it! Https: // t.co/CrMYbrPu03 pic.twitter.com/pW6iQoUGLJ
— Maxim Goryachy (@ h0t_max) July 18, 2022
In addition, although the released software can extract microcode, it does not support rewriting of microcode.
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