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Boot Integrity

Use secure methods to boot a system and verify the integrity of the operating system and loading mechanisms.

ID: M1046
Version: 1.0
Created: 11 June 2019
Last Modified: 19 May 2020
Enterprise Layer
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Techniques Addressed by Mitigation

Domain ID Name Use
Enterprise T1495 Firmware Corruption

Check the integrity of the existing BIOS and device firmware to determine if it is vulnerable to modification.
Enterprise T1601 Modify System Image

Some vendors of embedded network devices provide cryptographic signing to ensure the integrity of operating system images at boot time. Implement where available, following vendor guidelines. [1]
.001 Patch System Image

Some vendors of embedded network devices provide cryptographic signing to ensure the integrity of operating system images at boot time. Implement where available, following vendor guidelines. [1]
.002 Downgrade System Image

Some vendors of embedded network devices provide cryptographic signing to ensure the integrity of operating system images at boot time. Implement where available, following vendor guidelines. [1]
Enterprise T1542 Pre-OS Boot

Use Trusted Platform Module technology and a secure or trusted boot process to prevent system integrity from being compromised. Check the integrity of the existing BIOS or EFI to determine if it is vulnerable to modification. [2] [3]
.001 System Firmware

Check the integrity of the existing BIOS or EFI to determine if it is vulnerable to modification. Use Trusted Platform Module technology. [2] Move system's root of trust to hardware to prevent tampering with the SPI flash memory.[4] Technologies such as Intel Boot Guard can assist with this. [5]
.003 Bootkit

Use Trusted Platform Module technology and a secure or trusted boot process to prevent system integrity from being compromised. [2] [3]
.004 ROMMONkit

Enable secure boot features to validate the digital signature of the boot environment and system image using a special purpose hardware device. If the validation check fails, the device will fail to boot preventing loading of unauthorized software. [1]

.005 TFTP Boot

Enable secure boot features to validate the digital signature of the boot environment and system image using a special purpose hardware device. If the validation check fails, the device will fail to boot preventing loading of unauthorized software. [1]

Enterprise T1553 .006 Subvert Trust Controls: Code Signing Policy Modification

Use of Secure Boot may prevent some implementations of modification to code signing policies.[6]
Enterprise T1195 .003 Supply Chain Compromise: Compromise Hardware Supply Chain

Use Trusted Platform Module technology and a secure or trusted boot process to prevent system integrity from being compromised. Check the integrity of the existing BIOS or EFI to determine if it is vulnerable to modification. [2] [3]

References

  1. Cisco. (n.d.). Cisco IOS Software Integrity Assurance - Secure Boot. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
  2. Trusted Computing Group. (2008, April 29). Trusted Platform Module (TPM) Summary. Retrieved June 8, 2016.
  3. Microsoft. (n.d.). Secure the Windows 10 boot process. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  1. ESET. (2018, September). LOJAX First UEFI rootkit found in the wild, courtesy of the Sednit group. Retrieved July 2, 2019.
  2. Intel. (2013). Intel Hardware-based Security Technologies for Intelligent Retail Devices. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  3. Microsoft. (2021, February 15). Enable Loading of Test Signed Drivers. Retrieved April 22, 2021.