PixieFAIL: 9 UEFI Bugs Exposing Computers, Danger Approaches Unseen

PixieFAIL is a set of nine UEFI flaws that make computers vulnerable to remote attacks and network hijacking, according to cybersecurity researchers at Quarkslab. UEFI flaws allow hackers to gain unauthorized access to a system’s firmware, enabling them to implant persistent malware or manipulate the boot process. The vulnerabilities affect the IPv6 network protocol stack of EDK II, an open-source reference implementation of UEFI developed by TianoCore. The flaws can be exploited during the network boot process, which is commonly used in data centers and HPC environments for OS and software deployment. PixieFAIL raises concerns about potential exploitation and persistence, as it bypasses traditional security measures.

Some important details include:

• The vulnerabilities affect the EDK II implementation of UEFI
• Vendors affected include Tianocore, Arm, Insyde Software, American Megatrends Inc., Phoenix Technologies Inc., and Microsoft Corporation
• The vulnerabilities include issues such as integer underflow, buffer overflow, out-of-bounds read, infinite loop, and weak pseudo-random number generation
• It is important to remain vigilant and use robust security solutions to mitigate threats like PixieFAIL