Gigabyte fixes vulnerabilities in several motherboard models

Gigabyte has recently new firmware update that fixes a security vulnerability on many motherboard models. Exploiting the issue was not easy, but it could expose both Intel and AMD processor users to the risk of malware and other exploits.

The vulnerability is a Microsoft feature called Windows Platform Binary Table (WPBT). Solution allows certain firmware developers to download and automatically execute files “behind the scenes” of the system.

Gigabyte boards use the ability to automatically install an application to update their firmware. However, Eclypsium, a company specializing in hardware security, discovered two vulnerabilities in the process.

The first is that two of the URLs accessed by automatically downloading updates do not use the secure HTTP protocol and can be hacked to deliver malware along with the update. The second failure is that the system does not perform signature verification on downloaded files, which can catch downloaded unauthorized files.

Update both glitches

In its official post, Gigabyte informs the two protection fronts offered by the latest firmware update:

1. “Signature Verification: Gigabyte has improved the verification process for files downloaded from remote servers.
2. Privileged Access Restrictions: Gigabyte has enabled standard cryptographic authentication on remote server certificates.”

Affected card models are Intel’s 400, 500, 600 and 700 series and AMD’s 400, 500 and 600 models. Updating is recommended to keep your system more secure..

Alternatively, users can disable Application Center Download and Install Configuration in BIOS and then uninstall Gigabyte Auto-Update in Windows.