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Groups > linux.debian.user > #190665

Re: “Meltdown” and “Spectre”: Every modern processor has unfixable security flaws

From Michael Fothergill <michael.fothergill@gmail.com>
Newsgroups linux.debian.user
Subject Re: “Meltdown” and “Spectre”: Every modern processor has unfixable security flaws
Date 2018-01-04 19:40 +0100
Message-ID <v4iAN-Rn-1@gated-at.bofh.it> (permalink)
References <v4hv3-a1-7@gated-at.bofh.it> <v4hOq-iv-7@gated-at.bofh.it> <v4hY5-m1-3@gated-at.bofh.it>
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On 4 January 2018 at 17:55, The Wanderer <wanderer@fastmail.fm> wrote:

> On 2018-01-04 at 12:30, Michael Fothergill wrote:
>
> > On 4 January 2018 at 17:22, Curt <curty@free.fr> wrote:
> >
> >> https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2018/01/meltdown-and-
> spectre-every-modern-
> >> processor-has-unfixable-security-fladdws/U
> >>
> >>
> >> TL;DR
> >>
> >>  Windows, Linux, and macOS have all received security patches that
> >>  significantly alter how the operating systems handle virtual memory in
> >>  order to protect against a hitherto undisclosed flaw.
> >> ...
> >>  In the immediate term, it looks like most systems will shortly have
> >>  patches for Meltdown. At least for Linux and Windows, these patches
> >>  allow end-users to opt out if they would prefer. The most vulnerable
> >>  users are probably cloud service providers; Meltdown and Spectre can
> >>  both in principle be used to further attacks against hypervisors,
> >>  making it easier for malicious users to break out of their virtual
> >>  machines.
> >> ...
> >>  For typical desktop users, the risk is arguably less significant. While
> >>  both Meltdown and Spectre can have value in expanding the scope of an
> >>  existing flaw, neither one is sufficient on its own to, for example,
> >>  break out of a Web browser.
> >>
> >> Apparent moral of story for CPU: don't speculate (but it's significantly
> >> *slower*).
> >
> > ​Isn't this mainly an Intel problem?  I use AMD chipsets.  I would go for
> > Ryzen nowadays anyway.
>
> Meltdown so far is not known to affect anything other than Intel.
>
> Spectre, however, is confirmed to affect AMD CPUs - and Ryzen CPUs are
> specifically stated to be affected.
>

​But if the spectre vulnerability is hard exploit in practice and  even in
artificial test situations devised e.g. in the world of Linus Torvalds then
​AMD could turn out to be relatively cyber-kosher in the end.

MF


>
> --
>    The Wanderer
>
> The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one
> persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all
> progress depends on the unreasonable man.         -- George Bernard Shaw
>
>

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Thread

“Meltdown” and  “Spectre”: Every modern processor has  unfixable security flaws Curt <curty@free.fr> - 2018-01-04 18:30 +0100
  Re: “Meltdown” and “Spectre”: Every modern processor has unfixable security flaws The Wanderer <wanderer@fastmail.fm> - 2018-01-04 18:40 +0100
  Re: “Meltdown” and “Spectre”: Every modern processor has unfixable security flaws Michael Fothergill <michael.fothergill@gmail.com> - 2018-01-04 18:50 +0100
    Re: “Meltdown” and “Spectre”: Every modern processor has unfixable security flaws The Wanderer <wanderer@fastmail.fm> - 2018-01-04 19:00 +0100
      Re: “Meltdown” and  “Spectre”: Every modern processor has  unfixable security flaws Tixy <tixy@yxit.co.uk> - 2018-01-04 19:20 +0100
        Re: “Meltdown” and “Spectre”: Every modern processor has unfixable security flaws The Wanderer <wanderer@fastmail.fm> - 2018-01-04 19:30 +0100
      Re: “Meltdown” and “Spectre”: Every modern processor has unfixable security flaws Michael Fothergill <michael.fothergill@gmail.com> - 2018-01-04 19:40 +0100
        Re: “Meltdown” and “Spectre”: Every modern processor has unfixable security flaws Nicholas Geovanis <nickgeovanis@gmail.com> - 2018-01-04 20:00 +0100
      Re: “Meltdown” and “Spectre”: Every modern processor has unfixable security flaws Jack Dangler <tdldev@gmail.com> - 2018-01-05 13:50 +0100
        Re: “Meltdown” and “Spectre”: Every modern processor has  unfixable security flaws <tomas@tuxteam.de> - 2018-01-05 14:00 +0100
          Re: "Meltdown" and "Spectre": Every modern processor has unfixable security flaws "Thomas Schmitt" <scdbackup@gmx.net> - 2018-01-05 14:50 +0100
            Re: "Meltdown" and "Spectre": Every modern processor has unfixable  security flaws <tomas@tuxteam.de> - 2018-01-05 15:40 +0100
              Re: "Meltdown" and "Spectre": Every modern processor has unfixable security flaws "Thomas Schmitt" <scdbackup@gmx.net> - 2018-01-05 16:50 +0100
                Re: "Meltdown" and "Spectre": Every modern processor has unfixable  security flaws <tomas@tuxteam.de> - 2018-01-05 17:10 +0100
                [OFFTOPIC] Re: "Meltdown" and "Spectre": Every modern processor has unfixable security flaws Stefan Monnier <monnier@iro.umontreal.ca> - 2018-01-05 19:10 +0100
                Re: [OFFTOPIC] Re: "Meltdown" and "Spectre": Every modern processor  has unfixable security flaws SDA <marathon.durandal@gmail.com> - 2018-01-08 02:40 +0100
                Re: [OFFTOPIC] Re: "Meltdown" and "Spectre": Every modern processor  has unfixable security flaws Curt <curty@free.fr> - 2018-01-08 11:30 +0100
                Re: [OFFTOPIC] Re: "Meltdown" and "Spectre": Every modern processor  has unfixable security flaws Tom Furie <tom@furie.org.uk> - 2018-01-08 13:10 +0100
          Re: “Meltdown” and “Spectre”: Every modern processor has unfixable security flaws Nicholas Geovanis <nickgeovanis@gmail.com> - 2018-01-05 17:40 +0100
            Re: “Meltdown” and “Spectre”: Every modern processor has  unfixable security flaws <tomas@tuxteam.de> - 2018-01-05 17:50 +0100
            [OFFTOPIC] Re: “Meltdown” and  “Spectre”: Every modern processor has unfixable  security flaws Stefan Monnier <monnier@iro.umontreal.ca> - 2018-01-05 19:10 +0100
  Re: “Meltdown” and “Spectre”: Every modern processor has unfixable security flaws francis picabia <fpicabia@gmail.com> - 2018-01-04 19:10 +0100
    Re: “Meltdown” and “Spectre”: Every modern processor has unfixable security flaws bw <bwtnguy@yahoo.com> - 2018-01-04 19:20 +0100
    Re: “Meltdown” and “Spectre”: Every modern processor has unfixable security flaws The Wanderer <wanderer@fastmail.fm> - 2018-01-04 19:20 +0100

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