NVIDIA BIOSes unlocked, opening endless possibilities
According to a report from TechPowerUP, software engineers and modders have managed to bypass NVIDIA’s BIOS mismatch restrictions through the discovery of a backdoor.
Kefi, the developer behind nvflashk, has successfully identified a “mismatch bypass” backdoor in NVIDIA firmware flashing tool. This capability enables the flashing software to attempt firmware updates on a wide range of GeForce GPUs. As an illustrative example, Kefi suggests it might even be possible to flash an RTX 3060 BIOS onto an RTX 4090, although such attempts should never be performed.
For a decade, NVIDIA’s BIOS signature lock had effectively prevented alterations to firmware, thanks to a new BIOS verification method employing an on-die security chip called Falcon. However, the tools created by Kefi and Veii (creator of OMGVflash), now provide separate solutions to bypass these limitations effortlessly. They completely bypass the BIOS signature checks, permitting cross-flashing of firmware without restriction.
OMGflash features:
- Turing (RTX 2xxx Series) down to Geforce GPUs have full crossflash ability now.
- SubSystem Vendor to Vendor crossflash ability, as long as power headers are identical (Bellow 2000 series, it adapts on 3000-4000 series) & as long as no custom i²c or voltage controller modifications exist (3000+ series)
- Usage of this version without a ring-back server check & without a minimum-req version check
- Ability to downgrade InfoROM & XUSB FW to remove SW EEPROM lockdown // mostly a thing between different EEPROMs like ISSI or for situations with dGPU’s on Laptops or similar
- As long as 32-bit & 8-bit checksum on usermod is correct, biosmod flash and bypass FE / VendorCert / XOC Cert / MasterCert ~ golden card system. Basically flash what you desire, as long as EEPROM size can take it.
- Use the patched version to talk with Falcon , in case Developer knows how to contact it & utilize Nvidia™ powrprof.dll + MUTEX // example to build AIB Control tools, like GALAX NVVDD Tool
- Basically created the foundation required to build future projects, ontop with cool features grated to MUTEX access
OMGvflash at work, Source: Veii/TechPowerUP
A good example of this software is its ability to empower gamers with the option to flash the 1.1V BIOS onto their RTX 4090 GPUs. Initially, this BIOS configuration was reserved for the early RTX 4090 production models, offering enhanced performance through more aggressive voltage and frequency settings. However, with the introduction of AD102-301 GPU the maximum voltage has been set to 1070mV. Without this tool, flashing such BIOS versions was an impossibility. Additionally, gamers can now venture into flashing OC (Overclocked) BIOS versions onto cards that originally shipped with default NVIDIA clock settings.
For direct access to the software, you can refer to the original report. However, it’s crucial to emphasize that this software carries a significant level of risk and may lead to premature GPU failure. Should anyone choose to embark on such an endeavor, it is strongly recommended that they do so only with GPUs equipped with dual-BIOS functionality, if available.
Source: TechPowerUP
