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May 11th, 2020 12:00

does XPS 13 9300 support kernel DMA protection?

Hello Dell,

I'm considering buying XPS 13 9300. Before I make the final decision I need to know for sure if this model supports kernel DMA protection to prevent thunderspy attacks as described here: https://thunderspy.io/

Thanks!

9 Legend

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14K Posts

May 11th, 2020 15:00

@morgwai  It does support Kernel DMA Protection.  That arrived with Intel's "Titan Ridge" controller chips, which appeared in 2019.  Even the previous XPS 13 model (the 7390) supported Kernel DMA Protection.

10 Posts

May 12th, 2020 05:00

@jphughan many thanks for the info! 

I was trying to google it, but the results were mostly related to just how to enable it in Windows once the hardware supports it. (Also the research paper stated, apparently incorrectly, that no Dell machine is know to have it).

Do you happen to have a link to some Intel's tech-spec or some official blog post that confirms this?

Many thanks!

9 Legend

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14K Posts

May 12th, 2020 07:00

@morgwai  The articles I've read said that the researchers didn't find any Dell systems that had it.  That is not the same thing as no Dell systems having it.  I don't have a link to an Intel page saying, "Titan Ridge added Kernel DMA Protection", and even if I did, I doubt you'd find a white paper from Dell saying, "This system's TB3 capability uses Intel's Titan Ridge controller," but I'll see if I can get a friend of mine to send me a screenshot from his previous generation XPS 13 7390 2-in-1 with the About page on Thunderbolt Control Center showing Kernel DMA Protection.

10 Posts

May 12th, 2020 09:00

@jphughan many thanks, but it's not important at all and I don't want to bother you    I've asked about the link out curiosity    Many thanks again!

1 Rookie

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117 Posts

May 12th, 2020 18:00

I have the XPS 13 9300 and Kernel DMA Protection is listed as "On" in msinfo32.exe. For some reason the spycheck executable doesn't seem to work for me.

kerneldma.png

May 13th, 2020 01:00

I own:

Xps 9560/9570

Precission 7510/7520/7530/7540

Which ones are safe ?

Btw. How to enable Kernel DMA protection ? In MSinfo on my xps 9570 it's listed as disabled

9 Legend

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14K Posts

May 13th, 2020 06:00

@StefanBatory  Kernel DMA Protection requires support from hardware, firmware, OS, and drivers. On systems where it’s available, it would be enabled or disabled in the BIOS, but it would be enabled by default on systems that support it. I think all of the systems you listed are too old for Kernel DMA Protection, because the Thunderbolt controller chipset that supported it, called Intel’s “Titan Ridge” controller, did not become available until 2019. 

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