Intel Management Engine Deep Dive

Dive deep into the Intel Management Engine (ME) in this comprehensive conference talk from the 36th Chaos Communication Congress. Explore the reverse engineering process of a system on a chip, the development of an emulator, and the knowledge required to create a replacement for one of the most controversial binary blobs in modern PCs. Gain insights into the ME's role as the root of trust for various platform security features, its impact on firmware signing, and its background management capabilities. Learn about custom tools for manipulating firmware images, emulating ME firmware modules, and replicating unpublished exploits. Discover methods for analyzing ME version 11.x, found in 6th and 7th generation chipsets, and understand its hardware components, firmware partitions, code verification chain, and communication protocols. Delve into topics such as memory management, hardware access, cryptographic accelerators, and the host boot process. Examine the potential for developing an open-source replacement firmware for the Management Engine and explore future goals in this field.