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Critical vulnerability affecting most Linux distros allows for bootkits | Buffer overflow in bootloader shim allows attackers to run code each time devices boot up

Buffer overflow in bootloader shim allows attackers to run code each time devices boot up.

Linux developers are in the process of patching a high-severity vulnerability that, in certain cases, allows the installation of malware that runs at the firmware level, giving infections access to the deepest parts of a device where they’re hard to detect or remove. The vulnerability resides in shim, which in the context of Linux is a small component that runs in the firmware early in the boot process before the operating system has started. And, of course, already obtaining administrative control through exploiting a separate vulnerability in the operating system is hard and allows attackers to achieve all kinds of malicious objectives.

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