Microsoft said that its specialists are actively using artificial intelligence for accelerated analysis of vulnerabilities in open bootloaders - critical components of operating systems that ensure their loading.
Microsoft said that its specialists are actively using artificial intelligence for accelerated analysis of vulnerabilities in open bootloaders - critical components of operating systems that ensure their loading.
In its official blog, the company explained how Security Copilot helps detect potential threats faster than attackers could.
AI analyzes the source code of bootloaders and automatically finds potential security issues that could lead to exploits. Previously, this process was time-consuming and required significant human resources, but now the automated approach allows bugs to be found much faster.
Microsoft notes that this approach is already paying off: the AI model has identified several critical vulnerabilities in popular downloaders, allowing developers to fix potential threats before they fall into the hands of hackers.
“With a number of clues, we identified a vulnerability in bootloaders that could be exploited by attackers. Copilot also helped find similar patterns in other files, providing comprehensive coverage and validation of our findings. This efficient process allowed us to confirm several additional vulnerabilities and extend our analysis to other bootloaders, such as U-boot and Barebox, which share code with GRUB2,” the company’s blog says.
Installing such bootkits can have serious consequences, as they can give attackers complete control over a device. This allows them to interfere with the boot process and the operation of the operating system, compromise the security of other devices on the network, and perform other malicious actions.
"While attackers would likely need physical access to the device to exploit U-boot or Barebox vulnerabilities, in the case of GRUB2, these vulnerabilities could be used to bypass Secure Boot and install stealth bootkits or potentially bypass other security mechanisms such as BitLocker," Microsoft said.
Bootloaders are one of the most important parts of a system, as they are responsible for the correct startup of the operating system. If an attacker gains control of the bootloader, they can gain full access to the computer, bypass security systems, and install malware.
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