Intel has fixed a bug in its CPUs that has existed across multiple generations of its hardware for as long as ten years. The exploit existed in the remote management features for the processors, but it's one that users can now rest assured has been shored up.
That feature that hosted such a flaw was one mostly used by business and corporate customers that use it to remotely manage large fleets of systems. They are now being encouraged to download a firmware update which will clear up the problem once and for all.
Active Management Technology, Small Business Technology, and Standard Manageability platforms are said to be affected by the bug, though it's said that Microsoft's Windows-based Local Managaeability Service would need to be running at the same time as the aforementioned systems before the bug could be exploited (thanks Ars).
Still, the specific context for such a flaw is still common enough that Intel needed to fix it, especially since if exploited, it could give a nefarious hacker complete access to an affected system. Some 7,000 servers around the world are said to have the potential to be hacked in such a manner, so it's about time the bug was fixed.
For any organisation that isn't able to install the firmware update at this time, Intel has also released a document detailing the best way that they can mitigate any potential problems caused by the flaw.
Image source: Intel
