Intel's vulnerabilities don't appear frequently, but they are common today, and researchers have found one in particular that allows a malicious hacker to extract encryption keys from a computer's hardware.
Of course, this security flaw, which is known under the code CV-2019-0090, is concerning for anyone with an Intel processor, especially since the number of exploits with local access launched by attackers can grow in a short time.
To calm your clients, Purism has said that its implementation of Intel ME does not allow attackers to use this vulnerability.
“The reason that our hardware is not vulnerable to these attacks is the same reason that it has not been vulnerable in the past. For first timers, we disable all modules except the essentials. The CVE-2019-0090 vulnerability attacks essential modules that, if we include, but we do not use Intel keys that are compromised in the process"Mentions Purism.
And that does not stop there, not only laptops with Intel from Purism are protected, it also includes Mini-PCs, laptops and servers, which are not vulnerable because Purism does not use Intel processors in them, in addition, security has been reinforced of the Pureboot firmware.
While Librem laptops are not vulnerable, that does not mean that all Linux systems are safe. The vulnerability affects all affects any Intel system that has not been recently patched.