Even AMD and Intel had not always these „management“ engines. If you use
a cpu older than these techniques then you are probably safer.
According to libreboot[0] pre-2013 AMD cpus are not know to be vulnerable.
en.wikipedia[1] lists which Intel cpu has which version of Intel AMT.
First mentioned version is for an ethernet controller released Q2'05.
The latest VIA cpus have been released in May 2011. AMD had no
„management“ engine at this point in time. Intel had already a few
versions of their hard-/software. So I expect all public released VIA
cpus have _no_ such engine. But I have no proof.
kind regards
txt.file
[0] https://libreboot.org/faq.html#amd
[1]
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Intel_AMT_versions&oldid=792147452
Pen-Yuan Hsing:
Dear Libreplanet,
As we all know, a major problem with Intel (and AMD) x86 CPUs is that
they come with a proprietary "Management Engine (ME)" (or "Platform
Security Processor" for AMD) that is not only non-free but also with
demonstrated security holes.
I just recalled that VIA Technologies also have a line of x86 CPUs [1].
Do VIA CPUs also have the equivalent of the much-maligned ME? Or are VIA
CPUs more freedom-respecting? Would it help software freedom at all (or
not?) to use VIA CPUs instead? I'm curious!
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VIA_Technologies#Processors