0

Is it possible to disable both USB 3.0 and USB 2.0 support, while keeping USB 1.0/1.1 support, on my 2012 Mac Mini, under OS X 10.13 High Sierra? Perhaps by removing certain kernel drivers while leaving others in-place?

I need only USB 1.0/1.1 support to allow a simple USB keyboard + mouse to be connected.

I am concerned about physical hardware-based DMA attacks on my Mac Mini with USB 3.0 ports. (Because USB 3.0 can be used as an avenue for direct access to the Mac's internal PCIe bus.)

(I will be disabling or physically removing all other interfaces on the device, i.e. epoxying the Lightning and Firewire connectors so they are unusable, epoxying the Mac Mini's case shut so it becomes tamper-evident, removing the 802.11 wifi and Bluetooth boards, etc. I just need a dumb USB 1.0/1.1 port for keyboard, and an Ethernet RJ45 port.)

Improve this question
2
  • Which Mac Mini do you have? Which chipset? In other words, is it Intel graphics 3000, or 4000, which would help to identify the chipset?
    – Ale..chenski
    Jul 24, 2018 at 22:03
  • Mac Mini Late 2012, MacMini6,2 apple identifier, model #A1347, EMC# 2570, quad core i7 CPU @ 2.6Ghz, Intel HD Graphics 4000.
    – gosmond
    Jul 26, 2018 at 16:22

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
2

All Intel-based USB host controllers use hardware-based DMA engine to execute linked list of TD (transaction descriptors) from main memory. This is/was true for all three of them, UHCI, EHCI, and latest xHCI. More, in recent Intel platforms the UHCI (which did handle full-speed and low-speed) is now abandoned.

In intermediate USB architectures (Sandy Bridge, Ivy Bridge, series 7 chipsets) the only remaining controllers were EHCI and xHCI, which is still an eclectic mix. Funny, it looks like the FS/LS modes are handled via xHCI (USB3) controller if the EHCI controller determines that the attached device is LS or FS, and mark port ownership to "companion controller".

In recent USB architectures there is only one, xHCI type of controllers, which handles all modes (SS, HS, FS, and LS) uniformly via the same DMA access method.

So this is highly unlikely that you can avoid using xHCI USB 3.0 controller if you still want your USB keyboard and mouse.

You can try to use a regular HS hub to connect your keyboard and mouse. In this case the traffic will be controlled via EHCI HS controller (if this is C216 chipset), and xHCI can be disabled, if EHCI makes you feel more secure.

Improve this answer
2
  • Great answer, thank you. You said, "..In this case the traffic will be controlled via EHCI HS controller (if this is C216 chipset), and xHCI can be disabled, if EHCI makes you feel more secure." Where or how would I disable xHCI if I wanted to do that?
    – gosmond
    Jul 26, 2018 at 16:24
  • @gosmond, I have no idea about Macs but in Windows you can mark the controller in Device Manager as "disabled", and driver won 't be loaded. Mac should have something similar, maybe in BIOS or something.
    – Ale..chenski
    Jul 26, 2018 at 16:42

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .