A decade ago, AMD introduced a security feature called TSME to protect its high-end CPUs from physical attacks. This feature encrypts memory contents, making them useless to attackers. Over time, lower-end processors, including consumer Ryzen chips, began offering the same protection.

Recently, without warning or notice, this security feature was removed from lower-end AMD processors, particularly the consumer versions of Zen 5 architecture CPUs like the Ryzen 7 9700X. The change is hard to detect on Windows machines and requires technical skills when using Linux.

Ben Kilpatrick, a privacy-conscious Linux user, noticed this unexpected change after running Host Security ID (HSI), an auditing tool that evaluates firmware and hardware security configurations. He found that TSME was no longer supported, despite having enabled it in his BIOS settings all along.

AMD has not provided any explanation for the removal of this feature from consumer CPUs. The company stated that TSME is only available on PRO CPUs as part of AMD PRO Technologies, but this is the first time they have made this restriction public.

This move raises concerns about the balance between security and user convenience. While it’s understandable to limit certain features for non-professional use, removing a security measure without warning could leave users vulnerable or confused.