In a quick response to the recently uncovered firmware backdoor in over 250 models of Gigabyte motherboards, the company has launched new beta firmware that mitigates the potential security risk. Unfortunately, the list encompasses new and old motherboards from a few years ago, hence Gigabyte's urgent reaction to patching things up. Today, consumers can download the updated firmware for their affected Intel and AMD motherboards at Gigabyte's official website.
Gigabyte didn't provide in-depth details on the new firmware. However, the manufacturer has seemingly implemented stricter security controls during the boot process. According to Gigabyte, the improved security mechanisms will detect and prevent malicious activities during the boot process.
As a quick recap, the updater program resides inside the motherboard's firmware, so it's a sensitive subject. It's not like you can uninstall the program from the Control Panel or delete the process manually. Unless the option is manually disabled inside the firmware, the program automatically copies itself to the operating system and calls home Gigabyte's remote servers to check for new firmware once fully loaded. Wouldn't it be ironic if the updater program pushed the latest firmware to Gigabyte motherboards? The program with the potential vulnerability is also the same one that delivers the fix.
It would appear that Gigabyte has also made some significant changes on the end of the remote servers. For example, the vendor has enhanced the signature verification process for files downloaded from the company's remote servers. In addition, it conducts a more thorough check of the integrity of the files to prevent cyber criminals from inserting their malicious code to infect users' systems with malware.
On the other hand, Gigabyte has enabled standard cryptographic verification of remote server certificates. This should help improve the privilege access limitations. Why Gigabyte didn't previously have this feature activated in the first place is beyond us.
Owners of Intel 700-and 600-series motherboards and AMD 500-and 400-series motherboards will get first dibs on the new firmware. Corresponding firmware updates for Intel 500-and 400-series motherboards and AMD 600-series motherboards will be available on their respective product pages later today. The description of the new firmware reads: "Addresses Download Assistant Vulnerabilities Reported by Eclypsium Research."
Gigabyte wants to assure owners of older motherboards that the company hasn't forgotten about them. The company has prepared new firmware for previously launched motherboards that will be available later today.
