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3.2 Secure Local Update

NIST platform security: roots of trust, firmware and secure enclaves SP 800-147B
All changes in this version
first version loaded 3 BIOS Security Principles part of 3

Title

Secure Local Update

Control

Servers may optionally include a secure local update mechanism that updates the system BIOS without using the authenticated update mechanism. Secure local update mechanisms shall authorize and authenticate the BIOS update image by requiring that an administrator be physically present at the server to conduct the update. This requirement for physical presence mitigates the risk of a remote attacker conducting a malicious update to an inauthentic system BIOS image.

Interacting with a server via a remote console does not satisfy this requirement for physical presence. A secure local update mechanism can be used, for example, to recover from a corrupted BIOS that cannot be updated using an authenticated update or an automated recovery mechanism. The secure local update mechanism could also be used by a physically-present administrator to update to an earlier BIOS version on a system that does not allow rollback.

However, note that systems that implement the secure local update mechanism are potentially vulnerable to attacks by rogue administrators or other attacks with physical access to the server. Therefore, additional physical, environmental and technical security measures are essential to protecting these servers, but they are beyond the scope of this document.