Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities Intel (and AMD) Chip Bug

Anonymous
2018-01-04T01:54:57+00:00

A lot of noise on the internet, after Intel confirm that chips have a bug:

https://newsroom.intel.com/news/intel-responds-to-security-research-findings/ 

This post is to bring some light on this.

1- Intel says is not only their chips affected

2- PCID (Process-Context Identifiers), a chip feature,  has a bug that allow apps (malware) to read data

3- Process-context identifiers (PCIDs) are a facility by which a logical processor may cache information for multiple linear-address spaces. The processor may retain cached information when software switches to a different linear address space with a different PCID.

4- Macintosh and Linux OS are also affected.

Rumors:

1- If you have Haswell (4th-gen) or newer, PCID (Process-Context Identifiers) is enabled. 

2- After apply the patch, performance is going to be slower on newer CPU. Around 5 to 10%.

2- Still if you have older CPU, performance will be affected worse than newer CPUs.

3- To be affected you must have a OS 64 bits. {Correction: 32bits has vulnerability, MS still working on this)

Just as I'm writing this, Linus Torvalds and his team are working on this too:

https://lkml.org/lkml/2018/1/2/703

https://www.postgresql.org/message-id/20180102222354.qikjmf7dvnjgbkxe%40alap3.anarazel.de

Can we get a word from Microsoft?

For windows, What patch is going to address this? (Update: Patch links and KB are listed on postings)

Is that is going to be on the Montly Rollup and/or Security only patches? (Update: See the links posted)

If performance is going to suffer, can we be able to uninstall such patch? (Update: Microsoft published a document about it, See the links posted)

Please, any info will be appreciated.

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Security and privacy

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  1. Anonymous
    2018-01-05T01:33:37+00:00

    How about into Windows Update and check for the update that addresses this issue?

    It was released yesterday, is compatible with Windows Defender Security Center, and is downloadable NOW.

    I have it. Works great! And hasn't slowed down anything.

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  2. Anonymous
    2018-01-05T00:49:59+00:00

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  3. Anonymous
    2018-01-05T00:39:33+00:00

    Which Intel-based platforms are affected by or vulnerable to the issue? 

    The following Intel-based platforms are impacted by this issue. Intel may modify this list at a later time. 

    Please check with your system vendor or equipment manufacturer for more information regarding your system.

    Intel® Core™ i3 processor (45nm and 32nm)

    Intel® Core™ i5 processor (45nm and 32nm)

    Intel® Core™ i7 processor (45nm and 32nm)

    Intel® Core™ M processor family (45nm and 32nm)

    2nd generation Intel® Core™ processors

    3rd generation Intel® Core™ processors

    4th generation Intel® Core™ processors

    5th generation Intel® Core™ processors

    6th generation Intel® Core™ processors

    7th generation Intel® Core™ processors

    8th generation Intel® Core™ processors

    Intel® Core™ X-series Processor Family for Intel® X99 platforms

    Intel® Core™ X-series Processor Family for Intel® X299 platforms

    Intel® Xeon® processor 3400 series

    Intel® Xeon® processor 3600 series

    Intel® Xeon® processor 5500 series

    Intel® Xeon® processor 5600 series

    Intel® Xeon® processor 6500 series

    Intel® Xeon® processor 7500 series

    Intel® Xeon® Processor E3 Family

    Intel® Xeon® Processor E3 v2 Family

    Intel® Xeon® Processor E3 v3 Family

    Intel® Xeon® Processor E3 v4 Family

    Intel® Xeon® Processor E3 v5 Family

    Intel® Xeon® Processor E3 v6 Family

    Intel® Xeon® Processor E5 Family

    Intel® Xeon® Processor E5 v2 Family

    Intel® Xeon® Processor E5 v3 Family

    Intel® Xeon® Processor E5 v4 Family

    Intel® Xeon® Processor E7 Family

    Intel® Xeon® Processor E7 v2 Family

    Intel® Xeon® Processor E7 v3 Family

    Intel® Xeon® Processor E7 v4 Family

    Intel® Xeon® Processor Scalable Family

    Intel® Xeon Phi™ Processor 3200, 5200, 7200 Series

    Intel Atom® Processor C Series

    Intel Atom® Processor E Series

    Intel Atom® Processor A Series

    Intel Atom® Processor x3 Series

    Intel Atom® Processor Z Series

    Intel® Celeron® Processor J Series

    Intel® Celeron® Processor N Series

    Intel® Pentium® Processor J Series

    Intel® Pentium® Processor N Series

    For latest list, see:

    Facts about The New Security Research Findings and Intel Products

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  4. Anonymous
    2018-01-05T00:27:03+00:00

    It's a massive issue, answers are needed urgently!

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  5. Anonymous
    2018-01-05T00:22:48+00:00

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