Skip to main content

AMD SEVered Vulnerability

Researchers have discovered a vulnerability, named SEVered, in AMD's Secure Encrypted Virtualization (SEV) technology that allows data to be extracted from protected virtual machines (VMs).
Threat ID:
CC-2447
Category:
Backdoor
Threat Severity:
Low
Threat Vector:
Vulnerability
Published:
31 May 2018 12:00 AM
Report a cyber attack: call 0300 303 5222 or email [email protected]

This content has been archived

This article no longer conforms to NHS Digital's standards for cyber alerts, and may contain outdated or inaccurate information. Use of this information contained in this page is at your own risk

Summary

Researchers have discovered a vulnerability, named SEVered, in AMD's Secure Encrypted Virtualization (SEV) technology that allows data to be extracted from protected virtual machines (VMs).

Affected platforms

The following platforms are known to be affected:

Epyc

AMD Epyc processors - all versions
AMD Ryzen Pro processors - all versions

Ryzen Pro processor

Threat details

SEV encrypts VMs in system memory so that sensitive data should not be accessible from outside a VM.

The researchers have found that a malicious hypervisor installed on the host machine can be used to change the memory layout of a VM. Applications running within the VM can then be compelled to send responses to external requests that contain any data held in the VM's memory.

AMD have released a statement clarifying that SEV is designed to help protect VMs from inadvertent vulnerabilities in typical environments, and that they are working to protect against vulnerabilities such as this one that are more difficult to exploit.

Remediation advice

To prevent and detect an exploit, ensure that:

Remediation steps

Type Step
  • All operating systems, antivirus and other security products are kept up to date.
  • All day to day computer activities such as email and internet are performed using non-administrative accounts.
  • Strong password policies are in place and password reuse is discouraged.
  • Network, proxy and firewall logs should be monitored for suspicious activity.

Last edited: 17 February 2020 12:36 pm