Dell to Disable Intel’s Insecure IME
Dell responds to the reports of critical vulnerabilities in the Intel vPro Management Engine.
Intel’s IME (Intel vPro Management Engine) came under fire recently when security researchers found serious bugs that allowed a remote attacker to take control of the affected systems.
“The exploitation allows an attacker to get full control over business computers, even if they are turned off (but still plugged into an outlet). We really hope by bringing this to light, it will raise awareness about security issues in firmware and avoid possible issues in the future,” wrote Embedi, the security firm that discovered the bug.
Intel doesn’t share any information about these “secretive” Management Engine technologies. ME modules sit above the operating systems and users have no access or control over the technology. Organizations like EFF are calling for more transparency around ME modules. EFF asked Intel to “Provide a way for their customers to audit ME code for vulnerabilities. That is presently impossible because the code is kept secret.”
Because Intel doesn’t provide any such information, PC vendors and users don’t have any means to audit or fix such vulnerabilities. Now one PC vendor has taken steps to protect its users. Dell is now disabling IME in all new systems, and users will have to pay to enable the service.
In a statement to ExtremeTech, Dell said, “Dell has offered a configuration option to disable the Intel vPro Management Engine (ME) on select commercial client platforms for a number of years (termed Intel vPro – ME inoperable, custom order on Dell.com). Some of our commercial customers have requested such an option from us, and in response, we have provided the service of disabling the Management Engine in the factory to meet their specific needs. As this SKU can also disable other system functionality it was not previously made available to the general public.”
PC vendors, especially those selling Linux preloaded systems, are following the suite and disabling ME by default. Dell is the biggest PC vendor, and if other vendors start disabling the engine, Intel might be compelled to either open source the technology or offer more transparency around it.
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
![Learn More](https://www.linux-magazine.com/var/linux_magazin/storage/images/media/linux-magazine-eng-us/images/misc/learn-more/834592-1-eng-US/Learn-More_medium.png)
News
-
NVIDIA Released Driver for Upcoming NVIDIA 560 GPU for Linux
Not only has NVIDIA released the driver for its upcoming CPU series, it's the first release that defaults to using open-source GPU kernel modules.
-
OpenMandriva Lx 24.07 Released
If you’re into rolling release Linux distributions, OpenMandriva ROME has a new snapshot with a new kernel.
-
Kernel 6.10 Available for General Usage
Linus Torvalds has released the 6.10 kernel and it includes significant performance increases for Intel Core hybrid systems and more.
-
TUXEDO Computers Releases InfinityBook Pro 14 Gen9 Laptop
Sporting either AMD or Intel CPUs, the TUXEDO InfinityBook Pro 14 is an extremely compact, lightweight, sturdy powerhouse.
-
Google Extends Support for Linux Kernels Used for Android
Because the LTS Linux kernel releases are so important to Android, Google has decided to extend the support period beyond that offered by the kernel development team.
-
Linux Mint 22 Stable Delayed
If you're anxious about getting your hands on the stable release of Linux Mint 22, it looks as if you're going to have to wait a bit longer.
-
Nitrux 3.5.1 Available for Install
The latest version of the immutable, systemd-free distribution includes an updated kernel and NVIDIA driver.
-
Debian 12.6 Released with Plenty of Bug Fixes and Updates
The sixth update to Debian "Bookworm" is all about security mitigations and making adjustments for some "serious problems."
-
Canonical Offers 12-Year LTS for Open Source Docker Images
Canonical is expanding its LTS offering to reach beyond the DEB packages with a new distro-less Docker image.
-
Plasma Desktop 6.1 Released with Several Enhancements
If you're a fan of Plasma Desktop, you should be excited about this new point release.