Intel Releases Spectre-Meltdown Patches For 5 Years Of CPUs, Hardware Fixes Coming For 8th Gen Core, Some Xeons
In addition, Intel says that it is taking proactive steps to ensure that all three primary vulnerabilities, which are listed below, are addressed in the future:
- Variant 1 (Spectre): CVE-2017-5753 (Bound Check Bypass)
- Variant 2 (Spectre): CVE-2017-5715 (Branch Target Injection)
- Variant 3 (Meltdown): CVE-2017-5754 (Rogue Data Cache Load)
With respect to Variant 1, Intel says that it will continue to provide "software mitigations" to better protect against Spectre vulnerabilities. With regards to Variant 2 and Variant 3, the company will be making changes at the hardware level for its next generation processors that provide an extra level of protection through partitioning.
"Think of this partitioning as additional 'protective walls' between applications and user privilege levels to create an obstacle for bad actors," writes Intel when describing this new partitioning system.
We should note that we won't have to wait long to see these newly fortified processors hit the streets. The next generation "Cascade Lake" Xeon Scalable processors will be equipped with these defenses, as will the next round 8th generation Core processors that will ship during the second half.
"With these updates now available, I encourage everyone to make sure they are always keeping their systems up-to-date. It’s one of the easiest ways to stay protected," said Intel CEO Brian Krzanich. "But again, our work is not done. This is not a singular event; it is a long-term commitment. One that we take very seriously. Customer-first urgency, transparent and timely communications, and ongoing security assurance. This is our pledge and it’s what you can count on from me, and from all of Intel."
