Intel is ‘rapidly issuing updates’ to all processors affected by Meltdown flaw

Meltdown, Spectre chip level flaw: Intel says it is rapidly issuing updates for all computers, servers powered by its processors.

Intel says it is rapidly issuing updates for all computers, servers powered by its processors after researchers at Google Project Zero discovered two exploits named Meltdown and Spectre. These exploits make most of the world’s devices vulnerable to potential attacks from cyber-criminals. Intel says it is issuing firmware updates for majority of processor products introduced in the past five years.

The company adds that by the end of next week, it will have sent out updates to more than 90 percent of processor products manufactured during the time frame. It should be noted that the second exploit Spectre impacts nearly all processors on all devices, including those from Intel, AMD, those with ARM architecture, which is most smartphones. So all devices from computers to smartphones to tablets are impacted by the flaws.

According to Intel, the “performance impact of these updates is highly workload-dependent and, for the average computer user, should not be significant and will be mitigated over time.” While the company insists the average user will not be significantly impacted in terms of performance after the fix is issued, reports indicate a different story. Some say performance speeds of Intel computers with older processors could slow down by as much as 30 per cent, though newer Skylake processors might not have face a severe impact.

Also read: Meltdown, Spectre chip flaw impacts all devices: What it means, how to fix and more

The company does admit that in some cases the performance impact from software updates might be “higher,” though it adds “additional post-deployment identification, testing and improvement of the software updates should mitigate that impact.” Intel also says it is working with partners and others to fix these issues.

According to an investor presentation shared online by Intel, the exploits can allow an attacker to read content of “privileged memory, circumventing expected privilege levels.” This protected kernel memory includes access to passwords, encrypted information and other crucial data, and Meltdown exploit can be used to access this, putting the user at risk.

Intel also says the exploits are due to “speculative execution techniques” which are present in nearly all modern processors. The company in its presentation also says the exploits do not impact just “one architecture or processor implementation.” These exploits are not a denial of service attack or a network attack.

Intel and the security researchers also insist they have not observed any “active deployment of this exploit” on real consumer products. But researchers did prove the concept and showed how the attack would be carried out. Most computers will need a OS and firmware level update in order to protect them against these vulnerabilities. Windows 10, macOS, iOS,  tvOS updates have already been rolled out and others are expected to push out updates soon. Windows 7 and Windows 8 will get the updates next week. All users on latest versions of Android are also protected as Google says it has already secured its systems.