Recent research has revealed that over 240 models of Gigabyte motherboards contain vulnerabilities in their UEFI firmware that allow attackers with administrator privileges to inject bootkit malware. These flaws bypass Secure Boot, enabling persistent infection that survives operating system reinstallations, compromise firmware, or even hardware replacement.
Under the Hood
Vulnerabilities tracked as CVE‑2025‑7026 to CVE‑2025‑7029 stem from flaws in System Management Mode (SMM) handlers like OverClockSmiHandler and SmiFlash. Attackers exploiting these flaws gain arbitrary read/write access to System Management RAM (SMRAM) and can escalate privileges to install malicious firmware . Once a bootkit takes hold at this level, traditional security tools are rendered ineffective as the malware loads before the OS.
Who Is at Risk?
These vulnerabilities affect sectors where machines require high trust and resilience:
- Finance & Banking -trading systems often rely on Secure Boot to protect endpoints -medical devices or imaging systems frequently use UEFI Secure Boot
- Government & Defense- classified systems may run on compromised hardware
- Energy & Manufacturing- OT networks and embedded control systems are exposed
- IT Services -provider machines could be silently compromised even under reimage
What Organisations Should Do
- Identify affected Gigabyte models in inventory and apply firmware updates.
- Activate UEFI protections like Secure Boot, SMM lockdown, and firmware signing.
- Apply endpoint policies to detect unauthorized SMM executions or unrecognized firmware writes.
- Conduct regular scans of firmware memory and persistent module integrity during incident response.
- Work with hardware vendors to enforce secure firmware delivery channels and regular code audits.
Gigabyte has not yet released firmware patches for all impacted devices, highlighting a significant lag in mitigation.
Conclusion
These UEFI flaws underscore that Secure Boot is only as effective as the firmware implementing it. Persistent bootkits living beneath the OS are invisible to most security tools. Organisations must take proactive firmware management seriously, from identifying vulnerable boards to enabling secure hardware configurations and working with trusted vendors.
About COE Security
At COE Security, we specialise in protecting organisations across finance, healthcare, government, energy, manufacturing, and IT services. Our expertise includes:
- Firmware integrity audits and rootkit detection using memory forensics techniques
- Secure-BIOS configuration and UEFI hardening frameworks
- Incident response plans tailored to firmware-level attacks
- Client training on firmware hygiene, supply-chain security, and binary signing
- Compliance support with frameworks such as GDPR, HIPAA, PCI DSS, and SOX
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