Documentation/mysteries_intel.txt - flashprog - Gitiles

 = BBAR on ICH8 =
  There is no sign of BBAR (BIOS Base Address Configuration Register) in the
  public datasheet (or specification update) of the ICH8. Also, the offset of
  that register has changed between ICH7 (SPIBAR + 50h) and ICH9 (SPIBAR +
  A0h), so we have no clue if or where it is on ICH8. Out current policy is to
  not touch it at all and assume/hope it is 0.

 = SMM BIOS Write Protection =
 Sometimes a hardware vendor will enable "SMM BIOS Write Protect" (SMM_BWP)
 in the firmware during boot time. The bits that control SMM_BWP are in the
 BIOS_CNTL register in the LPC interface.

 When enabled, the SPI flash can only be written when the system is operating in
 in System Management Mode (SMM). In other words, only certain code that was
 installed by the BIOS can write to the flash chip. Programs that run in OS
 context such as flashprog can still read the flash chip, but cannot write to the
 flash chip.

 Flashprog will attempt to detect this and print a warning such as the following:
 "Warning: BIOS region SMM protection is enabled!"

 Many vendor-supplied firmware update utilities do not actually write to the ROM;
 instead they transfer data to/from memory which is read/written by a routine
 running in SMM and is responsible for writing to the firmware ROM. This causes
 severe system performance degradataion since all processors must be in SMM
 context (ring -2) instead of OS context (ring 0) while the firmware ROM is being
 written.

 = Accesses beyond region bounds in descriptor mode =
  Intel's flash image tool will always expand the last region so that it covers
  the whole flash chip, but some boards ship with a different configuration.
  It seems that in descriptor mode all addresses outside the used regions can not
  be accessed whatsoever. This is not specified anywhere publicly as far as we
  could tell. flashprog does not handle this explicitly yet. It will just fail
  when trying to touch an address outside of any region.
  See also http://www.flashrom.org/pipermail/flashrom/2011-August/007606.html

 = (Un)locking the ME region =
  If the ME region is locked by the FRAP register in descriptor mode, the host
  software is not allowed to read or write any address inside that region.
  Although the chipset datasheets specify that "[t]he contents of this register
  are that of the Flash Descriptor" [PANTHER], this is not entirely true.
  The firmware has to fill at least some of the registers involved. It is not
  known when they become read-only or any other details, but there is at least
  one HM67-based board, that provides an user-changeable setting in the firmware
  user interface to enable ME region updates that lead to a FRAP content that is
  not equal to the descriptor region bits [NC9B].

  There are different ways to unlock access:

  - A pin strap: Flash Descriptor Security Override Strap (as indicated by the
    Flash Descriptor Override Pin Strap Status (FDOPSS) in HSFS. That pin is
    probably not accessible to end users on consumer boards (every Intel doc i
    have seen stresses that this is for debugging in manufacturing only and
    should not be available for end users).
    The ME indicates this in bits [19:16] (Operation Mode) in the HFS register of
    the HECI/MEI PCI device by setting them to 4 (SECOVR_JMPR) [MODE_CTRL].

  - Intel Management Engine BIOS Extension (MEBx) Disable
    This option may be available to end users on some boards usually accessible
    by hitting ctrl+p after BIOS POST. Quote: "'Disabling' the Intel ME does not
    really disable it: it causes the Intel ME code to be halted at an early stage
    of the Intel ME's booting so that the system has no traffic originating from
    the Intel ME on any of the buses." [MEBX] The ME indicates this in
    bits [19:16] (Operation Mode) in the HFS register of the HECI/MEI PCI device
    by setting them to 3 (Soft Temporary Disable) [MODE_CTRL].

  - Previous to Ibex Peak/5 Series chipsets removing the DIMM from slot (or
    channel?) #0 disables the ME completely, which may give the host access to
    the ME region.

  - HMRFPO (Host ME Region Flash Protection Override) Enable MEI command
    This is the most interesting one because it allows to temporarily disable
    the ME region protection by software. The ME indicates this in bits [19:16]
    (Operation Mode) in the HFS register of the HECI/MEI PCI device by setting
    them to 5 (SECOVER_MEI_MSG) [MODE_CTRL].

 == MEI/HECI ==
  Communication between the host software and the different services provided by
  the ME is done via a packet-based protocol that uses MMIO transfers to one or
  more virtual PCI devices. Upon this layer there exist various services that can
  be used to read out hardware management values (e.g. temperatures, fan speeds
  etc.). The lower levels of that protocol are well documented:
  The locations/offsets of the PCI MMIO registers are noted in the chipset
  datasheets. The actually communication is documented in a whitepaper [DCMI] and
  an outdated as well as a current Linux kernel implementation (currently in
  staging/ exist [KERNEL]. There exists a patch that re-implements this in user
  space (as part of flashprog).

 == Problems ==
  The problem is that only very few higher level protocols are documented publicly,
  especially the bunch of messages that contain the HMRFPO commands is probably
  well protected and only documented in ME-specific docs and the BIOS writer's
  guides. We are aware of a few leaked documents though that give us a few hints
  about it, but nothing substantial regarding its implementation.

  The documents are somewhat contradicting each other in various points which
  might be due to factual changes in process of time or due to the different
  capabilities of the ME firmwares, example:

  Intel's Flash Programming Tool (FPT) "automatically stops ME writing to SPI
  ME Region, to prevent both writing at the same time, causing data corruption." [ME8]

  "FPT is not HMRFPO-capable, so needs [the help of the FDOPS pin] HDA_SDO if
  used to update the ME Region." [SPS]

  When looking at the various ME firmware editions (and different chipsets), things
  get very unclear. Some docs say that HMRFPO needs to be sent before End-of-POST
  (EOP), others say that the ME region can be updated in the field or that some
  vendor tools use it for updates. This needs to be investigated further before
  drawing any conclusion.

 [PANTHER]   Intel 7 Series Chipset Family Platform Controller Hub (PCH) Datasheet
             Document Number: 326776, April 2012, page 857
 [NC9B]      Jetway NC9B flashrom v0.9.5.2-r1517 log with ME region unlocked.
             NB: "FRAP 0e0f" vs. "FLMSTR1 0a0b".
             http://paste.flashrom.org/view.php?id=1215
 [MODE_CTRL] Client Platform Enabling Tour: Platform Software
             Document Number: 439167, Revision 1.2, page 52
 [MEBX]      Intel Management Engine BIOS Extension (MEBX) User's Guide
             Revision 1.2, Section 3.1 and 3.5
 [DCMI]      DCMI Host Interface Specification
             Revision 1.0
 [KERNEL]    http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux-2.6.git;a=tree;f=drivers/staging/mei;hb=HEAD
 [SPI_PROG]  Ibex Peak SPI Programming Guide
             Document Number: 403598, Revision 1.3, page 79
 [ME8]       Manufacturing with Intel Management Engine (ME) Firmware 8.X on Intel 7 Series
             Revision 2.0, page 59
 [SPS]       Manufacturing with Intel Management Engine (ME) on Intel C600 Series Chipset 1
             for Romley Server 2 Platforms using Server Platform Services (SPS) Firmware
             Revision 2.2, page 51
	= BBAR on ICH8 =
	There is no sign of BBAR (BIOS Base Address Configuration Register) in the
	public datasheet (or specification update) of the ICH8. Also, the offset of
	that register has changed between ICH7 (SPIBAR + 50h) and ICH9 (SPIBAR +
	A0h), so we have no clue if or where it is on ICH8. Out current policy is to
	not touch it at all and assume/hope it is 0.

	= SMM BIOS Write Protection =
	Sometimes a hardware vendor will enable "SMM BIOS Write Protect" (SMM_BWP)
	in the firmware during boot time. The bits that control SMM_BWP are in the
	BIOS_CNTL register in the LPC interface.

	When enabled, the SPI flash can only be written when the system is operating in
	in System Management Mode (SMM). In other words, only certain code that was
	installed by the BIOS can write to the flash chip. Programs that run in OS
	context such as flashprog can still read the flash chip, but cannot write to the
	flash chip.

	Flashprog will attempt to detect this and print a warning such as the following:
	"Warning: BIOS region SMM protection is enabled!"

	Many vendor-supplied firmware update utilities do not actually write to the ROM;
	instead they transfer data to/from memory which is read/written by a routine
	running in SMM and is responsible for writing to the firmware ROM. This causes
	severe system performance degradataion since all processors must be in SMM
	context (ring -2) instead of OS context (ring 0) while the firmware ROM is being
	written.

	= Accesses beyond region bounds in descriptor mode =
	Intel's flash image tool will always expand the last region so that it covers
	the whole flash chip, but some boards ship with a different configuration.
	It seems that in descriptor mode all addresses outside the used regions can not
	be accessed whatsoever. This is not specified anywhere publicly as far as we
	could tell. flashprog does not handle this explicitly yet. It will just fail
	when trying to touch an address outside of any region.
	See also http://www.flashrom.org/pipermail/flashrom/2011-August/007606.html

	= (Un)locking the ME region =
	If the ME region is locked by the FRAP register in descriptor mode, the host
	software is not allowed to read or write any address inside that region.
	Although the chipset datasheets specify that "[t]he contents of this register
	are that of the Flash Descriptor" [PANTHER], this is not entirely true.
	The firmware has to fill at least some of the registers involved. It is not
	known when they become read-only or any other details, but there is at least
	one HM67-based board, that provides an user-changeable setting in the firmware
	user interface to enable ME region updates that lead to a FRAP content that is
	not equal to the descriptor region bits [NC9B].

	There are different ways to unlock access:

	- A pin strap: Flash Descriptor Security Override Strap (as indicated by the
	Flash Descriptor Override Pin Strap Status (FDOPSS) in HSFS. That pin is
	probably not accessible to end users on consumer boards (every Intel doc i
	have seen stresses that this is for debugging in manufacturing only and
	should not be available for end users).
	The ME indicates this in bits [19:16] (Operation Mode) in the HFS register of
	the HECI/MEI PCI device by setting them to 4 (SECOVR_JMPR) [MODE_CTRL].

	- Intel Management Engine BIOS Extension (MEBx) Disable
	This option may be available to end users on some boards usually accessible
	by hitting ctrl+p after BIOS POST. Quote: "'Disabling' the Intel ME does not
	really disable it: it causes the Intel ME code to be halted at an early stage
	of the Intel ME's booting so that the system has no traffic originating from
	the Intel ME on any of the buses." [MEBX] The ME indicates this in
	bits [19:16] (Operation Mode) in the HFS register of the HECI/MEI PCI device
	by setting them to 3 (Soft Temporary Disable) [MODE_CTRL].

	- Previous to Ibex Peak/5 Series chipsets removing the DIMM from slot (or
	channel?) #0 disables the ME completely, which may give the host access to
	the ME region.

	- HMRFPO (Host ME Region Flash Protection Override) Enable MEI command
	This is the most interesting one because it allows to temporarily disable
	the ME region protection by software. The ME indicates this in bits [19:16]
	(Operation Mode) in the HFS register of the HECI/MEI PCI device by setting
	them to 5 (SECOVER_MEI_MSG) [MODE_CTRL].

	== MEI/HECI ==
	Communication between the host software and the different services provided by
	the ME is done via a packet-based protocol that uses MMIO transfers to one or
	more virtual PCI devices. Upon this layer there exist various services that can
	be used to read out hardware management values (e.g. temperatures, fan speeds
	etc.). The lower levels of that protocol are well documented:
	The locations/offsets of the PCI MMIO registers are noted in the chipset
	datasheets. The actually communication is documented in a whitepaper [DCMI] and
	an outdated as well as a current Linux kernel implementation (currently in
	staging/ exist [KERNEL]. There exists a patch that re-implements this in user
	space (as part of flashprog).

	== Problems ==
	The problem is that only very few higher level protocols are documented publicly,
	especially the bunch of messages that contain the HMRFPO commands is probably
	well protected and only documented in ME-specific docs and the BIOS writer's
	guides. We are aware of a few leaked documents though that give us a few hints
	about it, but nothing substantial regarding its implementation.

	The documents are somewhat contradicting each other in various points which
	might be due to factual changes in process of time or due to the different
	capabilities of the ME firmwares, example:

	Intel's Flash Programming Tool (FPT) "automatically stops ME writing to SPI
	ME Region, to prevent both writing at the same time, causing data corruption." [ME8]

	"FPT is not HMRFPO-capable, so needs [the help of the FDOPS pin] HDA_SDO if
	used to update the ME Region." [SPS]

	When looking at the various ME firmware editions (and different chipsets), things
	get very unclear. Some docs say that HMRFPO needs to be sent before End-of-POST
	(EOP), others say that the ME region can be updated in the field or that some
	vendor tools use it for updates. This needs to be investigated further before
	drawing any conclusion.

	[PANTHER] Intel 7 Series Chipset Family Platform Controller Hub (PCH) Datasheet
	Document Number: 326776, April 2012, page 857
	[NC9B] Jetway NC9B flashrom v0.9.5.2-r1517 log with ME region unlocked.
	NB: "FRAP 0e0f" vs. "FLMSTR1 0a0b".
	http://paste.flashrom.org/view.php?id=1215
	[MODE_CTRL] Client Platform Enabling Tour: Platform Software
	Document Number: 439167, Revision 1.2, page 52
	[MEBX] Intel Management Engine BIOS Extension (MEBX) User's Guide
	Revision 1.2, Section 3.1 and 3.5
	[DCMI] DCMI Host Interface Specification
	Revision 1.0
	[KERNEL] http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/torvalds/linux-2.6.git;a=tree;f=drivers/staging/mei;hb=HEAD
	[SPI_PROG] Ibex Peak SPI Programming Guide
	Document Number: 403598, Revision 1.3, page 79
	[ME8] Manufacturing with Intel Management Engine (ME) Firmware 8.X on Intel 7 Series
	Revision 2.0, page 59
	[SPS] Manufacturing with Intel Management Engine (ME) on Intel C600 Series Chipset 1
	for Romley Server 2 Platforms using Server Platform Services (SPS) Firmware
	Revision 2.2, page 51