Researchers warn that a bug in AMD’s chips would allow attackers to root into some of the most privileged portions of a computer—and that it has persisted in the company’s processors for decades.
Researchers warn that a bug in AMD’s chips would allow attackers to root into some of the most privileged portions of a computer—and that it has persisted in the company’s processors for decades.
tldr: this exploit allows someone with kernel level access to reach system management mode.
I wouldn’t call myself a computer science expert, but if you have kernel level access can’t you already reach system management mode? Or am I way off the mark here?
User level: Ring 3. Kernel level: Ring 0. This is the highest level an OS is supposed to access. SMM: Ring -2. Here is a post about accessing SMM if you are interested (scroll down to HP daystarter) https://cohost.org/cathoderaydude/post/1311259-hell-never-ends-on-x