Don't fear the BIOS update: Asus has just fixed a local access vulnerability affecting older Intel motherboards
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I'll be honest: BIOS updates give me the willies. Unfortunately, even as such a source of undue anxiety, they are still well worth staying on top of. Case in point, the latest BIOS update from Asus addresses a vulnerability found in motherboards for 8th and 9th Gen Intel chips.
The vulnerability in question is described as "Improper initialization in an ASUS certain motherboard [sic] allows an physically proximate user to read or write arbitrary memory by inserting a specially crafted device." Basically, a bad actor would need to be in the same room as an affected PC to exploit this vulnerability. Even though local access is required, it's still a pretty serious issue.
Designated CVE-2026-93495, the issue has a high severity score of 7.0. As such, Asus has issued a security bulletin earlier today saying it "strongly recommends updating to the latest version" of the BIOS for a list of affected motherboards.
The affected motherboards include a number of ROG Strix and ROG Maximus models. I've included the full list of models, plus the fixed BIOS update that Asus recommends downloading, below:
Swipe to scroll horizontally
Motherboard Model |
Affected BIOS Version |
Fixed BIOS Version |
PRIME Z390-A |
through 2101 |
2203 |
PRIME Z390-A/H10 |
through 2101 |
2203 |
ROG MAXIMUS XI HERO |
through 2101 |
2203 |
ROG MAXIMUS XI HERO (WI-FI) |
through 2101 |
2203 |
ROG MAXIMUS XI FORMULA |
through 2101 |
2203 |
ROG MAXIMUS XI CODE |
through 2101 |
2203 |
ROG MAXIMUS XI EXTREME |
through 2101 |
2203 |
ROG MAXIMUS XI APEX |
through 2101 |
2203 |
ROG MAXIMUS XI GENE |
through 2101 |
2203 |
ROG STRIX Z390-E GAMING |
through 2101 |
2203 |
ROG STRIX Z390-F GAMING |
through 2101 |
2203 |
Pro WS C246-ACE |
through 2101 |
2203 |
WS Z390 PRO |
through 1401 |
1502 |
You can download the relevant updates from the Asus support site here. Asus also has a handy guide for how to update the BIOS in Windows here. Users of Asus Armory Crate and similar software tools may also want to make sure they're not missing out on any recent updates, as another high severity security vulnerability was discovered back in August.
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Jess has been writing about games for over ten years, spending a significant chunk of that time working on print publications PLAY and Official PlayStation Magazine. When she’s not investigating all things hardware here, she's either constructing a passionate defence of a 7/10 game, daydreaming about her debut novel, or feeling wistful about the last time she chased some nerds around a field with an oversized foam sword.