Intel® CPU Voltage Settings Modification Advisory, Disclosed December 10, 2019
On December 10, 2019, Intel publicly disclosed a potential security vulnerability in some Intel® processors that may allow escalation of privilege and/or information disclosure.
This is a potential security vulnerability only when Intel® Software Guard Extensions (Intel® SGX) is enabled on a system. Intel has released firmware updates to system manufacturers to mitigate this potential vulnerability.
Intel recommends that end users contact their system manufacturer to obtain the latest BIOS version that mitigates this issue. You can find a list of many system manufacturer’s support sites here.
This issue has been referenced using various names by researchers and media including: VoltJockey, Knight, and Plundervolt.
Affected products:
- Intel® Core™ 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th & 10th generation processors
- Intel® Xeon® Processor E3 v5 & v6
- Intel® Xeon® Processor E-2100 & E-2200
Note Other processor families (such as Intel® Pentium® processors and Intel® Celeron® processors) may have some SKUs that support Intel® SGX.
Further technical details can be found in the Intel Security Center, INTEL-SA-00289, as well as our December blog, which provides a summary of this month’s security advisories.
If you need further assistance, please contact Intel Customer Support.
General Q&A:
Click or the question for details:
What is the issue?
External Researchers informed Intel of a potential vulnerability that could impact the security of Intel® Software Guard Extensions (Intel® SGX). This issue may occur when using software that enables the user to alter voltage operating points.How do I fix this issue?
Intel has released firmware updates to system manufacturers to mitigate this potential vulnerability.Intel recommends that end users contact their system manufacturer to obtain the latest BIOS version that mitigates this issue. You can find a list of many system manufacturers' support sites.