FYI: The blog post by binarly is a cleaner source and was published a whole week ago.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Hundreds of Windows and Linux computer models from virtually all hardware makers are vulnerable to a new attack that executes malicious firmware early in the boot-up sequence, a feat that allows infections that are nearly impossible to detect or remove using current defense mechanisms.
The attack—dubbed LogoFAIL by the researchers who devised it—is notable for the relative ease in carrying it out, the breadth of both consumer- and enterprise-grade models that are susceptible, and the high level of control it gains over them.
LogoFAIL is a constellation of two dozen newly discovered vulnerabilities that have lurked for years, if not decades, in Unified Extensible Firmware Interfaces responsible for booting modern devices that run Windows or Linux.
The participating companies comprise nearly the entirety of the x64 and ARM CPU ecosystem, starting with UEFI suppliers AMI, Insyde, and Phoenix (sometimes still called IBVs or independent BIOS vendors); device manufacturers such as Lenovo, Dell, and HP; and the makers of the CPUs that go inside the devices, usually Intel, AMD or designers of ARM CPUs.
As its name suggests, LogoFAIL involves logos, specifically those of the hardware seller that are displayed on the device screen early in the boot process, while the UEFI is still running.
LogoFAIL is a newly discovered set of high-impact security vulnerabilities affecting different image parsing libraries used in the system firmware by various vendors during the device boot process.
The original article contains 643 words, the summary contains 232 words. Saved 64%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
executes malicious firmware early in the boot-up sequence,
Isn’t the system already infected then?
Any patches?
The best way to prevent LogoFAIL attacks is to install the UEFI security updates that are being released as part of Wednesday’s coordinated disclosure process. Those patches will be distributed by the manufacturer of the device or the motherboard running inside the device.
Supposedly today? Depends on the manufacturer
No. Every vendor is going to need to patch their shit, so most likely the OS’s are going to kludge something on top to try to prevent uploading logos.
So, this is proof of concept, not an actual attack at this time. Correct?
No, it’s an actual attack. But we don’t know for sure if it’s being exploited actively in the wild. This vulnerability has existed ever since PCs adopted UEFI (~2006).
