News and Analysis

Security researchers have identified an advanced flaw in AMD chips that allows hackers to infect computers with undetectable malware. The vulnerability, labeled as Sinkclose, affects virtually all AMD chips dating back to 2006, enabling attackers to run their own code in the highly privileged System Management Mode. Removal of the malware would require physically connecting to the memory chips, leading some researchers to suggest it might be easier to discard infected machines. AMD has released mitigation options for its datacenter and PC products.