A few days ago it was officially announced Coreboot 25.12 releaseThe new version of the project, which develops an open-source alternative to proprietary BIOS and firmware (UEFI), is the result of three months of intensive work. accumulating more than 750 confirmations (commits) created by 110 developers, including 21 new collaborators who are joining the project.
This version stands out for the implementation of new runtime configuration interfaces, greater persistent storage capacity, greater SMMSTORE capacity, improved support for MIPI cameras on Intel platforms (IPU) and support for next-generation hardware.
Support for new motherboards and processors
As with previous versions, the new Coreboot version also significantly expands the list of compatible hardware. In this releaseOfficial support has been added for Consumer motherboards, workstations, and business laptops:
- Consumer motherboards: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 and ASUS PRIME H610I-PLUS D4.
- Lenovo laptops: ThinkPad T470s and T580.
- Specialized hardware: Siemens MC EHL6 and Star Labs Starfighter (Arrow Lake 285H).
- Server boards and ChromeOS: 6 boards used in Google data centers and Chromebook devices have been added.
- Regarding processors (SoCs), preliminary support has been added for AMD Turin, the next generation of high-performance CPUs. Critical improvements have also been implemented for the Intel Panther Lake and Qualcomm X1P42100 platforms.
Runtime configuration: Coreboot Forms Representation (CFR)
One of the most relevant structural changes is the adoption of the CFR framework (Coreboot Forms Representation). This technology provides a unified API which allows you to modify the configuration of the firmware without needing to recompile the code or perform a complete memory flash.
Through CFR, The user can access option menus to control functions hardware such as:
- Activating or deactivating the iGPU (integrated graphics).
- Manual selection of touch panels or screens.
- Advanced control of fans and thermal profiles.
Currently, more than 40 Google motherboards have migrated to this system, integrating directly with the UEFI variable store to ensure that changes are persistent after a reboot.
Improvements to storage controllers and subsystems
The SMMSTORE controller, responsible for managing persistent memory areas protected by System Management Mode (SMM), Its default storage size has been increased from 256 KB to 512 KB. This increase is vital for modern platforms that require more space to store UEFI variables and complex firmware configurations.
MIPI Cameras on Intel Platforms
Coreboot has redesigned the way cameras are managed in next-generation Intel laptops. Support for MIPI cameras has been improved (Mobile Industry Processor Interface), which are replacing traditional USB cameras (UVCs). Unlike USB cameras, MIPIs send raw data via a serial interface (CSI) directly to the image signal processor (ISP) integrated into the CPU.
The 25.12 version optimizes the ACPI enumeration of these sensors, ensuring that operating systems such as Windows and Linux can correctly identify the physical location of the sensor (PLD) and its static data (SSDB).
Advances in Qualcomm, AMD and Intel architectures
Development for specific architectures has received several updates:
- Qualcomm X1P42100: Advanced debugging capabilities have been added, such as RAM dump loading and the use of Application Processor Debug Policy (APDP). Support for USB Type-C and improvements to the Moving Display Subsystem (MDSS) have also been implemented.
- AMD Glinda and Faegan: Support for 10 Gigabit Ethernet controllers and USB4 configuration via DeviceTree has been added. Additionally, MTRR calculations have been simplified to accelerate boot times.
- Intel Panther Lake: Support for the new LPCAMM memory standard (Low Power Compressed Attached Memory Module), preparing for the ultra-thin laptops that will adopt this format.
Technical and tool changes
For developers, Coreboot's internal infrastructure has also evolved. The external tools have been updated such as Binutils 2.45 and ACPICA 20250807, while the obsolete nds32le-elf toolchain has been removed.
In the bookstore libpayload, an API has been added to determine the size of physical memory and support for the LZ4 compression algorithm. Finally, specific drivers for Cirrus Logic audio codecs (CS35L56 and CS42L43) have been added, and ACPI support has been extended to systems with RISC-V architecture.
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