Silicon Updates: AMT bug on Intel processors has been with you for a decade!

If you are connected to the internet, you are "hackable"! Intel has rediscovered its firmware vulnerability almost after a decade. Intel's Active Management Technology (AMT), Intel Standard Manageability (ISM) and Intel Small Business Technology (ISBT) firmware versions 6.x till 11.6 has a loophole that enable the admin to bypass the access the manageability features.  

Attackers can get control over the victim in two ways according to Intel. However, there are no specific actions mentioned to do so. This bug came up in with the Intel processors released around 2010. All that an attacker needs is just an empty login string to the Chipzilla's AMT remote management firmware to access the remote system, with all the admin privileges.  

As a measure, Intel and Dell together, released a scanner that help the users to get rid of this vulnerability, called CVE-2017-5689. All the these vulnerabilities can be fixed by the scanner available at Dell's support page. But the pause is that these fixes are available for Dell machines only.  

Local Manageability Service is the target of attackers with this vulnerability. Servers running this service with the executable port are capable of getting complete control over the machine. All around the world, there are about 6200 servers that are open with the vulnerable port numbers 16992 and 16993, which fall under the category of reserved ports for communication. 

As an instant measure, Intel has temporarily closed these ports and attempting for alternative initiatives.