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Forums - PC Discussion - Unfixable Flaw Found in Thunderbolt Port - Unlocks any PC in Less Than 5 Minutes

 

Was there ever a need for Intels Thunderbolt port?

Nah, USB does everything it should. 6 100.00%
 
Yes, thunderbolt is a won... 0 0%
 
Total:6
vivster on 11 May 2020
Ljink96 said:
Thunderbolt defenders are probably, as we speak, coming up with ways they can spin this into something positive.

Thunderbolt is a protocol, it doesn't need defending. It stands for itself and will be used if deemed necessary. In this particular case you need hardware access and then tamper with the controller to remove all security. The controller isn't part of the protocol and neither are the devices that house the controllers. Thunderbolt is just a tool, the implementation is key. As are higher priority security measures.

Did you know that if you have hardware access to RAM you can just execute any code on it? Better get rid of all that dangerous RAM in our systems.



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vivster on 11 May 2020

I think it's weird that they put emphasis on that it "cannot be patched by software". It should be easy to patch your OS and disable Thunderbolt until you are logged in. The OS should also be able to discern between power and data access from the port.



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Ljink96 on 11 May 2020
Louie said:
Ljink96 said:
Thunderbolt defenders are probably, as we speak, coming up with ways they can spin this into something positive.

Are there people who religiously defend a port? There's no way to spin this, this just sucks lol. Though I do like my notebook's Thunderbolt ports from a user experience. It's convenient to have one cable for my external monitor that also charges my notebook. 

Yeah, mostly crumbside though. They exist. It does have positives as you have mentioned but I guess its uses are valued from person to person. 



Ljink96 on 11 May 2020
vivster said:
Ljink96 said:
Thunderbolt defenders are probably, as we speak, coming up with ways they can spin this into something positive.

Thunderbolt is a protocol, it doesn't need defending. It stands for itself and will be used if deemed necessary. In this particular case you need hardware access and then tamper with the controller to remove all security. The controller isn't part of the protocol and neither are the devices that house the controllers. Thunderbolt is just a tool, the implementation is key. As are higher priority security measures.

Did you know that if you have hardware access to RAM you can just execute any code on it? Better get rid of all that dangerous RAM in our systems.

Well, you make a good point with the RAM analogy. But the type of defending I'm referring to is on a pettier level, more in regards to brand loyalty where if something unsavory happens to their choice of hardware they will try to sugar coat it. 



Leynos on 11 May 2020

Had it on my last laptop. Never used it.



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kirby007 on 11 May 2020

any pc with thunderbolt



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vivster on 11 May 2020
Ljink96 said:
vivster said:

Thunderbolt is a protocol, it doesn't need defending. It stands for itself and will be used if deemed necessary. In this particular case you need hardware access and then tamper with the controller to remove all security. The controller isn't part of the protocol and neither are the devices that house the controllers. Thunderbolt is just a tool, the implementation is key. As are higher priority security measures.

Did you know that if you have hardware access to RAM you can just execute any code on it? Better get rid of all that dangerous RAM in our systems.

Well, you make a good point with the RAM analogy. But the type of defending I'm referring to is on a pettier level, more in regards to brand loyalty where if something unsavory happens to their choice of hardware they will try to sugar coat it. 

But that doesn't really fly anymore. Thunderbolt isn't only an Apple thing anymore, it's on most higher end notebooks too. Hell, it's not even an Intel thing anymore since it also comes with some AMD boards. And if all that isn't enough USB4 is basically just Thunderbolt, so soon literally everyone will be using Thunderbolt for everything. To start talking down on it or outright rejecting it would be quite silly.



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DonFerrari on 12 May 2020
vivster said:
Ljink96 said:

Well, you make a good point with the RAM analogy. But the type of defending I'm referring to is on a pettier level, more in regards to brand loyalty where if something unsavory happens to their choice of hardware they will try to sugar coat it. 

But that doesn't really fly anymore. Thunderbolt isn't only an Apple thing anymore, it's on most higher end notebooks too. Hell, it's not even an Intel thing anymore since it also comes with some AMD boards. And if all that isn't enough USB4 is basically just Thunderbolt, so soon literally everyone will be using Thunderbolt for everything. To start talking down on it or outright rejecting it would be quite silly.

This makes the issue even more worrying. But still if the flaw is taken care for devices made in 2020 and after then USB 4.0 may not have this flaw.



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vivster on 12 May 2020
DonFerrari said:
vivster said:

But that doesn't really fly anymore. Thunderbolt isn't only an Apple thing anymore, it's on most higher end notebooks too. Hell, it's not even an Intel thing anymore since it also comes with some AMD boards. And if all that isn't enough USB4 is basically just Thunderbolt, so soon literally everyone will be using Thunderbolt for everything. To start talking down on it or outright rejecting it would be quite silly.

This makes the issue even more worrying. But still if the flaw is taken care for devices made in 2020 and after then USB 4.0 may not have this flaw.

I would assume so.



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gergroy on 12 May 2020

Given physical access to a device, I’m sure anybody that knows what they are doing could find a way to get into it. If it was something that could be targeted wirelessly I would be concerned.