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PSPTool makes AMD Secure Processor firmware inside BIOS/UEFI update images easier to inspect: it can parse and extract firmware blobs, and it documents replacing firmware entries in an image. It does not reveal AMD’s source code, establish that a computer is vulnerable, or make modified firmware safe or flashable on any system. AMD formerly called this component the Platform Security Processor (PSP); its current terminology is AMD Secure Processor (ASP).
What PSPTool does
PSPTool is a command-line research utility for working with AMD Secure Processor firmware embedded in UEFI images, including BIOS update images. The project describes parsing, extracting, and replacing firmware entries. Its maintained project documentation says AMD stores these binaries in proprietary filesystem structures inside padding volumes that UEFITool cannot parse. PSPTool reverse-engineers that filesystem format to make the contents accessible.
“Replacing” is an image-editing capability, not a promise that a modified image can be installed on a particular computer. Firmware layout, validation, and update protections are platform-specific, and extracting a blob does not provide AMD’s source code.
How to inspect a BIOS update image
The documented workflow starts with an update image file, not a live connection to the processor. PSPTool’s project documentation lists installation from PyPI with pip3 install psptool or installation from GitHub, and shows command-line use with BIOS/UEFI images as input.
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- Obtain the vendor’s update package. Identify the BIOS/UEFI update for the exact system or motherboard. The PSPTool workflow operates on the image contained in that package.
- Extract the image if it is wrapped in an installer. If the vendor supplies a Windows executable rather than a directly usable image, the project mentions innoextract as one possible way to get at the image first. Whether it works depends on how the package was built.
- Install PSPTool. Use the project’s PyPI or GitHub installation instructions, checking its current documentation for the appropriate commands and dependencies.
- Run PSPTool on the image. Follow the project’s CLI examples to parse the image and extract the firmware entries you need. The precise command and output depend on the image and PSPTool version.
This inspection process does not require a hardware programmer. A programmer may be relevant to other firmware-recovery or chip-access tasks, but it is not a prerequisite for parsing an update file.
Why the Secure Processor is important
AMD’s October 19, 2023 Ryzen PRO 7000 Series Mobile Processor Security Features white paper describes the Secure Processor as dedicated hardware in each SoC that anchors a hardware root of trust and helps boot and initialize the SoC through a secure boot flow. AMD presents it as one part of a layered platform security design, not as a complete security boundary on its own.
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That white paper also describes firmware anti-rollback, which can block downgrades of Secure Processor firmware, and an A/B recovery framework that an OEM can integrate. Those details apply to the Ryzen PRO 7000 mobile family and its OEM implementation context; they should not be assumed for every AMD processor or PC.
PSPTool is not a firmware builder or emulator
Several tools and projects concern AMD firmware, but they do different jobs:
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| Tool or project | Documented role | What that role does not imply |
|---|---|---|
| PSPTool | Parses, extracts, and can replace AMD Secure Processor firmware entries in UEFI images. | It does not itself establish that a changed image can be installed or run on a given system. |
amdfwtool |
Coreboot’s integration guide describes it assembling a monolithic image for platforms requiring PSP functionality, placing firmware and related structures appropriately. | Image assembly and platform integration are distinct from inspecting or extracting blobs with PSPTool. |
| PSPEmu | Project documentation describes emulation and responsibilities associated with PSP firmware, including bootstrapping and other platform tasks. | Emulating firmware execution is different from static parsing of an update image. |
What firmware access does—and does not—say about security
Being able to extract firmware makes analysis more practical, but it is not by itself a vulnerability finding. PSPTool is a parsing and image-manipulation utility; its existence does not show that every AMD machine, firmware release, or Secure Processor implementation has a remotely exploitable flaw.
Separate work has examined attacks on AMD’s firmware TPM. In the 2023 paper faulTPM: Exposing AMD fTPMs’ Deepest Secrets, Jacob and co-authors report experimental attacks that compromised fTPM internal state under the conditions they tested, involving physical access and fault injection. Those findings belong to that paper and its tested setup, not to PSPTool, and do not establish that all AMD devices or firmware versions are affected.
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Likewise, the PSPReverse project’s PSPEmu documentation describes responsibilities attributed to the processor on some platforms, including bootstrapping, loading firmware for other microcontrollers, memory initialization, code authentication, and providing a firmware TPM. Coverage varies by model, so these functions should not be read as a feature list guaranteed for every AMD system.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Is AMD Secure Processor firmware open source?
No conclusion that the firmware is open source follows from PSPTool. The project describes proprietary firmware blobs and reverse-engineered parsing of their filesystem structures. Making the blobs extractable or modifiable as entries in an image is not the same as AMD publishing their source code.
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Why the older name still appears
Older reporting called the technology the Platform Security Processor, or PSP. Tom’s Hardware’s historical report on PSPTool used that terminology when describing the tool’s original announcement and its role in lowering the barrier to examining firmware in UEFI images. AMD and the maintained project documentation now use AMD Secure Processor (ASP), while the PSP name remains useful when identifying older coverage, code, and research.
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