AMD Publishes Emergent Update After Massive Severity Appears In Ryzen Master Software

The AMD Ryzen Master software is susceptible to hijacking, allowing them to take full control of a user's PC unless you're running the latest update. The AMD Ryzen Master utility enables users to monitor the processor and gain the ability to overclock their system. This new attack, which has a vulnerability rating of 7.2, has been mitigated quickly by the latest update.

AMD's most recent vulnerability was caused by the system "not validating the privilege level of a user during the Ryzen Master installation process." This lack of validation causes the attacker to change the files, change their privilege from a low to an administrative level, and then execute the attack remotely. This attack can be utilized by an older version of the Ryzen Master software utility to initiate the attack. AMD has yet to comment if users without a high access level, such as administrators, could potentially enable the same attack.

Paul Alcorn of Tomshardware also notes that "the new vulnerability is assigned the CVE-2022-27677 identifier and was released in a coordinated vulnerability disclosure with Conor McNamara."

Additionally, the company has not revealed if the attack could allow the attacker access to voltage alterations and real-time clock speeds. Hertzbleed and Plundervolt, two well-known system attacks over the last decade, if not longer, allowed for attacks on the power voltage and speed of the processor. It is unknown if this vulnerability shares the same effects.

Previous Ryzen Master software attacks have happened that has since been mitigated. One such attack was discovered by Hewlett Packard (HP) in 2020, and recent vulnerabilities totaling thirty-one attacks were found over the last month.

The new version, 2.10.1.2287 of AMD Ryzen Master software, is available for download and is recommended for anyone who has yet to update their system with the latest software. Included in the update is support for users to manage the operating temperature of the CPU, which in turn would slow the processor down so that it could maintain proper operating temperatures. The software allows users to increase the voltage setting above 5.2V for educated and experienced overclockers. This feature is only available on select models, as not all processors are created for overclocking purposes.

News Sources: Tom's Hardware, CVE, AMD 1, 2