12th Gen Intel Core BIOS 3.08 Release

Maximilian_Schmitt · January 11, 2024, 7:07am

I can also confirm that my update did not update the CSME version. It is still on version: 16.0.15.1810

Maximilian_Schmitt · January 11, 2024, 10:09am

Might be stupid, but if I run the “Intel® Converged Security and Management Engine Version Detection Tool (Intel® CSMEVDT)”

I have the following output:

Intel(R) CSME Version Detection Tool 2024-01-11 10:03:34 GMT 9.0.3.0 fedora Framework Laptop (12th Gen Intel Core) Fedora Linux 39.20240110.0 (Kinoite) (6.6.9-200.fc39.x86_64) 12th Gen Intel(R) Core™ i5-1240P True 16.0.15.1810 Intel(R) CSME This system is vulnerable. 100

Would that mean that there is another vulnerability? Because I am not running a vPro …

EDIT:
After running the updater for the ME, like @leorize stated FWUpdLcl.efi -F FWupdate.bin it successfully updated!

The output from the CSME Version Detection Tool now is:

Intel(R) CSME Version Detection Tool 2024-01-11 11:01:36 GMT 9.0.3.0 fedora Framework Laptop (12th Gen Intel Core) Fedora Linux 39.20240110.0 (Kinoite) (6.6.9-200.fc39.x86_64) 12th Gen Intel(R) Core™ i5-1240P True 16.1.30.2269 Intel(R) CSME This system is not vulnerable. It has already been patched. 101

Kieran_Levin · January 11, 2024, 10:18am

@M_B1 Thanks for all your detailed feedback. We are going to look at the issues you and other users have identified with the EFI update.

Specifically for your case, do you happen to have a display attached to the eDP cable? Or anything unusual about your setup in the cooler master case? This is something we have tested, but I am wondering if you are somehow triggering non standalone detection and missing the battery.

I think the issues you are running into are caused by your usb device not recognized by the bios after the PD/retimer update portion.

To other comments in the thread, the BIOS only supports updating one capsule at a time, and does a global reset between each capsule. So we cannot cache multiple updates in RAM.

From 13th Gen onwards, we can update the CSME and perform standalone updates correctly without having to go through this multi stage update.

The EFI updater for this platform is designed to stage 4 updates in sequence:
PD x 2
Retimer x2
BIOS+CSME.
Since the bios update for this platform is not aware of PD updates during standalone, we have a wrapper script to update the PD before the bios portion tries to update the PD firmware, to walk users through swapping power from one side to another. This allows standalone usage to successfully update the bios without shutting down in the middle of the update due to PD reset.

If you can update using the windows installer this is the most preferred method.

We are going to replicate the current issues with the EFI update method, and look at a more robust solution. Many users are not experiencing issues, but I think updating from an external device is less robust than staging updates on the internal SSD. So this may be a better path for the updater.

Mapleleaf · January 11, 2024, 11:45am

@Kieran_Levin Thanks a lot for the follow up!
I’d like to point out that in your top post’s screenshots the final BIOS version is 3.06, as well as the version installed by your BIOS installer, so you may have been testing with the old BIOS installer (but the correct wrapper and PD updater).
Nah they’re just old screenshots.

Simon84 · January 11, 2024, 12:38pm

Probably just old screenshots. I think it is annoying to take screenshots from the eDP or HDMI output.

Mapleleaf · January 11, 2024, 12:41pm

Oh you’re right!!
I just checked on the old 3.06 Beta page, and there are exactly the same pictures.

Philonmetal · January 11, 2024, 12:49pm

I left the laptop for a few hours unplugged and turned off. After i came home, i re-plugged everything, turned the laptop on and with screen flickering and a few more seconds during the boot process than before the update i have the internal and external screens working in Fedora 39. Even after sleep my external screen comes back to life.
I didnt do anything else! Hope you get your external screen to work again!

Ofir_Levitan · January 11, 2024, 1:13pm

So after reading your comment it worked! I turn the computer off, I unplugged all the ports then replugged everything, turned on and it’s working again
Thx!

M_B1 · January 11, 2024, 3:15pm

Hi, I do not have a display attached via eDP. I can’t think of anything unusual about the setup.

Jason_Username_Taken · January 11, 2024, 6:05pm

Perhaps we can break them into a few separate EFI Shell updaters?

Matt_Hartley · January 11, 2024, 6:36pm

Everyone, please, please help us help you.

I realize this will feel like a lot, but I actually have trimmed this down to the bare bones details.

We very much need the following to track down where things are failing OR succeeding:

FAILURE SKU# and SYS SERIAL NUMBER: (Use this guide to get access to the mainboard)
SYS CONFIG: (i7, i5, specific model details, get the details from the motherboard sticker, same location as above)
RAM: Brand and how much, 1 or 2 sticks
SSD: Brand/model and how large is the capacity. If removed, please indicate.
Wi-Fi: Which wifi card? If removed, please indicate.
External Devices/Other: Anything attached? If so, what and how? If not, please indicate.
EXPANSION CARD TYPES: What cards were inserted? Example: 2x Display Port, 2x USB-A
BIOS VERSION: Which BIOS version were on on before attempting the flash?
DRIVER PACKAGE VERSION: If known and if using Windows.
OS VERSION: if Windows, 10 or 11? If Linux, which distro and release version? For Arch, this would be Arch, fully updated or not, please indicate.
FAIL RATIO: Can you reliably reproduce this issue 100% of the time? Is it only 50% of the time? Occurs randomly?
STEP TO REPRODUCE: EFI Shell via USB drive, Windows package, and the steps you recall taking. Just do your best. I realize no one will remember all of this.
Step 1 -
Step 2 -
Step 3 -
Etc, Etc.
OBSERVED RESULT: How it failed, what you saw on the screen.
EXPECTED RESULT: Obviously this one, we expect it to flash successfully and be reflected in BIOS settings.
ISSUE RECOVERY METHOD: If you were able to recover, walk us through this process.
EXTERNAL DEVICE MODE or NAME: For USB flash drives, Generic or the brand.

Again, I realize this may feel like a lot, please remember to:

Use the above template in your reply. This is for those who have not posted yet and for those who have. Please avoid word walls, we need to use this template please.
If you are unsure of something, please state this in the template.

Thank you.

next_to_utter_chaos · January 11, 2024, 6:51pm

1240P, 3.06 → 3.08 (Windows .msi), csme v0:16.1.30.2269:
Tested external monitor with USB-C → DP on both sides, USB-C → USB-C on both sides, HDMI → HDMI on left side (forgot to check the other side) - everything works under Archlinux.

Only strange observation: progress bar went slowly from 0 to 100 %, then back maybe to 95 %, stayed there for a couple of minutes (enough to get a coffee), display went black and green LED on the left started to light up (power on the right), stayed black long enough to make me nervous, rebooted, booting into HAIKU didn’t work at first (but after powering off and on again).

Edit: Only now noticed the template, but I’ll leave it as is since everything did work.

Matt_Hartley · January 11, 2024, 7:04pm

Folks, please, please, please use the template. Just fill out as much as possible, fill in unsure where unsure.

We need to find the common threads of fail and success.

I will send everyone who does a virtual high five and a big thank you!

Maximilian_Schmitt · January 11, 2024, 7:14pm

First of all thank you guys for investigation these issues! Hopefully we will get these updates going much faster than before with a better quality.

Here is my report:

FAILURE SKU# and SYS SERIAL NUMBER: FRANDACP04, FRANDACPA430240021

SYS CONFIG: 12th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-1240P

RAM: Kingston Fury Impact 32GB (2x16GB), KF3200C20S4/16G, DDR4 3200 MT/s

SSD: Samsung SSD 980 PRO (1TB)

Wi-Fi: Intel Corporation Wi-Fi 6 AX210

External Devices/Other: Nothing else was attached to the laptop.

EXPANSION CARD TYPES: 
  Display is top most: 
  USB-C, top-left (used for charging during UEFI update)
  Audio Extension Card, bottom-left
  USB-C, top-right
  USB-A, bottom-right (used for EFI Update!)

BIOS VERSION: Factory stock 3.05
DRIVER PACKAGE VERSION: not possible, using Fedora Silverblue

OS VERSION: Fedora Linux 39.20240110.0 (Kinoite) (6.6.9-200.fc39.x86_64), with Universal Blue

FAIL RATIO: Not able to reproduce, happened at first try. Tried it again today and the update went through without any problems.

STEP TO REPRODUCE: 
Step 0 - Have the laptop charged at 100%
Step 1 - Plug in USB Stick with EFI files
Step 2 - Boot into the UEFI
Step 3 - Load Optimal settings to reset bios
Step 4 - Disable Secure Boot
Step 5 - Save and Exit the UEFI
Step 6 - Press "F12" to enter the Boot Options
Step 7 - Select the USB Stick with EFI Files
Step 8 - Connect charger to top-left USB-C port
Step 9 - Press enter to start Update

OBSERVED RESULT: If I remember correctly it failed on line 116, like other peoples update.

EXPECTED RESULT: Obviously this one, we expect it to flash successfully and be reflected in BIOS settings.

ISSUE RECOVERY METHOD: I first tried to restart after the failed update, after that I rebooted into the BIOS to reset it again. This did not fix the issue of the ports unable to charge. After that I opened the device and remove the following components:
- SSD
- Battery
- Both RAM sticks
- CMOS battery

I left the device unplugged for around one minute. The ability to charge and go through the update was possible after this!

EXTERNAL DEVICE MODE or NAME: Generic 8GB USB 3.0 Stick

EDIT:
I might have to note that the Intel Management Engine was not updated during this update. I had to update it manually by booting into the EFI updater tool from you guys, going into the firmware folder and then typing FWUpdLcl.efi /F FWupdate.bin

grayasystems · January 11, 2024, 7:29pm

Mine worked on the first try. Here are the details of the system.

FAILURE SKU# and SYS SERIAL NUMBER: 12th gen Framework 13, FRANMACPA422450030
SYS CONFIG: i5-1240p
RAM: Crucial CT8G4SRA32A.M4FE (2x8GB) DDR4 3200
SSD: Samsung 980 PRO (1TB)
Wi-Fi: Intel Corporation Wi-Fi 6 AX210
External Devices/Other: Wireless Mouse attached to a USB type A port
EXPANSION CARD TYPES: 2x USB C in the back, 1x USB-A Front right, 1x HDMI front left. USB C back left used for charging plugged in during update.
BIOS VERSION: 3.0.6
DRIVER PACKAGE VERSION: Using W11_2022_07_26
OS VERSION: Windows 11 (Insider build Canary)
FAIL RATIO: Used the Windows package and worked first pass.
STEP TO REPRODUCE: No Failure
OBSERVED RESULT: NA
EXPECTED RESULT: Obviously this one, we expect it to flash successfully and be reflected in BIOS settings.
ISSUE RECOVERY METHOD:
EXTERNAL DEVICE MODE or NAME:

next_to_utter_chaos · January 11, 2024, 7:41pm

Well, okay then…

FAILURE SKU# and SYS SERIAL NUMBER: I don’t have the time to open it up now to look at the mainboard (btw, what’s a failure SKU#???) - FRANDA0074
SYS CONFIG: Intel® Core™ i5-1240P
RAM: 2 x 16 GB Corsair
SSD: Samsung 980 1 TB (EFI partition 1 GB)
Wi-Fi: Intel AX210
External Devices/Other: only power in right USB-C
EXPANSION CARD TYPES: 2 x USB-C (back left and right), 1 x USB-A (front right), 1 x microSD (front left)
BIOS VERSION: 3.06 (updated from 3.04 first via LVFS, then Windows .msi)
DRIVER PACKAGE VERSION: Which driver package? The only one available from Framework?
OS VERSION: Windows 11 (fully updated), Arch (fully updated), Haiku (fully updated nightly), OpenBSD (fully updated current) - update started via 3.08 .msi file from Windows
FAIL RATIO: 0 - well, it worked with the first attempt…
STEP TO REPRODUCE: Windows package
Step 1 - downloaded .msi under Arch
Step 2 - updated all operating systems
Step 3 - copied .msi to another partition under Windows
Step 4 - double-clicked on .msi and told (3? times) to proceed anyway → update started to run, green progress bar to 100 %, progress bar back to 95 %, green LED on the left and black display, laptop rebooted afterwards, reached rEFInd menu
Step 5 - tried to start into Haiku, got stuck
Step 6 - pressed power button for ~ 10 s → laptop shut off
Step 7 - pressed power button again → laptop started
Step 8 - F2 to enter “BIOS”, checked versions → everything updated
Step 9 - rebooted, chose Haiku from rEFInd menu → everything works
OBSERVED RESULT: It updated without major problems.
EXPECTED RESULT: Obviously this one, we expect it to flash successfully and be reflected in BIOS settings.
ISSUE RECOVERY METHOD: Powered off and on.
EXTERNAL DEVICE MODE or NAME: No USB flash drives present.

Cipher · January 11, 2024, 8:15pm

As I mentioned above, update for me went smoothly. But I noticed in the BIOS, intel CSME version did not match the one mentioned in the updated component versions, while everything else does match.

See img that states all went fine after the update. (This is my second time flashing the bios)

BIOS screen after the second time re-flashing.

FAILURE SKU# and SYS SERIAL NUMBER: 12th Gen Framework 13 - FRANDACPA423830076
SYS CONFIG: Intel 12th Gen i5-1240p
RAM: Crucial, 2x16GB - CT2K16G4SFRA32A - DDR4 3200 MT/s
SSD: Crucial P5 Plus 1TB - CT1000P5PSSD8
Wi-Fi: Intel, Wifi 6 AX210
External Devices/Other: None
EXPANSION CARD TYPES: 3 USB C, 1 USB A.
BIOS VERSION: 3.0.6
DRIVER PACKAGE VERSION: N/A, Using Fedora Linux
OS VERSION: Fedora Linux 39, KDE spin
OBSERVED RESULT: BIOS shows Intel CSME version 16.0.15.18.10, see attached pictures.
EXPECTED RESULT: Should be 16.1.30.2269.
EXTERNAL DEVICE MODE or NAME: Sand disk dual 128GB

EDIT: Thanks to @leorize and @Maximilian_Schmitt to point out, binaries are there, I have manually updated Intel CSME version to the correct updated version through the efi shell method.

Matt_Hartley · January 11, 2024, 8:26pm

You are all amazing!

Please keep them coming using this as your guide, success or fail.

kelnos · January 11, 2024, 8:41pm

Ok, here’s a repost using the template:

FAILURE SKU# and SYS SERIAL NUMBER: SKU: FRANDACP08, Serial: FRANDACPA82395000J
SYS CONFIG: Intel 12th Gen i7-1280P
RAM: Crucial, 2x32GB, CT32G4SFD832A
SSD: SK hynix Platinum P41/PC801, 2TB (present during update)
Wi-Fi: Intel(R) Wi-Fi 6 AX210 (present during update)
External Devices/Other: None
EXPANSION CARD TYPES: 1x USB-C (for power), 1x USB-A (for the flash drive). I removed the other two prior to updating.
BIOS VERSION: 3.05
DRIVER PACKAGE VERSION: n/a
OS VERSION: Debian Linux (trixie/testing)
FAIL RATIO: I’ve only tried once; don’t want to risk more issues by trying again.
STEP TO REPRODUCE:
Step 1 - Unpack UEFI updater to USB drive, reboot, press F12, and select USB drive to boot from.
Step 2 - Start update and wait. Eventually I get a script redirection error (I think this was after step 2 of 5, but I don’t remember) and am presented with a EFI prompt.
Step 3 - Manually reboot, F12, select USB device again.
Step 4 - BIOS updater tells me to plug in power, even though it already is (charging LED on side of laptop is OFF).
Step 5 - Try unplugging and replugging power cable – does not work.
Step 6 - Move power cable to each of the other 3 USB-C ports – does not work.
Step 7 - Turn off laptop and unplug, and wait 10 minutes.
Step 8 - Plug laptop back into power, note that charging LED on side of laptop now turns on.
Step 9 - Turn on laptop, F12, select USB drive to boot.
Step 10 - BIOS flashing process proceeds to completion successfully.
Step 11 - Verify versions of updated components. Everything checks out as being updated, except the CSME is still on the old version (16.0.15.1810).
OBSERVED RESULT: Flash process failed in the middle and could not be straightforwardly recovered due to laptop refusing to charge for a while. CSME firmware did not get updated, even after the updater claimed everything updated successfully.
EXPECTED RESULT: Flash successfully, with no errors during the process or recovery steps needed, and all components should update to the new versions.
ISSUE RECOVERY METHOD: (see steps to reproduce above)
EXTERNAL DEVICE MODE or NAME: 32GB Samsung Pro microSD card plugged into a USB microSD card reader (this one: Amazon.com), which was plugged into a USB-A port.

kelnos · January 11, 2024, 8:51pm

Just a note for Linux users: you can also get this at runtime by running the following commands:

sudo dmidecode --string system-sku-number
sudo dmidecode --string system-serial-number
sudo dmidecode --string processor-version
sudo dmidecode --type 17  # RAM information

And if you want to find the CSME version without rebooting into the BIOS, you can run mei-amt-check (the example output in the README doesn’t show versions when AMT is not provisioned, but a later update to the repo makes the program show versions regardless).