Major Intel CPU Hardware Vulnerability Found

[cadaveca]

I don't feel any BIOS patch will ever "fix" the problem because the problem is hard coded into the design of the processors. Patches may mitigate or even totally negate the vulnerabilities. But is a permanent patch a "fix"? I don't believe so in this case because it does not return everything back to "good as new" - or preferably better than new.

It is completely possible for this to be patched by BIOS. See, there's this little buffer, and it allows data inside it to be truncticated so that it fits more data than it would be allowed to otherwise. This allows for partial bits of code to be maligned from what YOU want, and allows an attacker to force their data to be used instead of the legit data. The fix (and why AMD is less prone to the problem) is to ensure that the data in this buffer is NOT truncticated (which AMD does already).

Of course, if this data takes up more space in the buffer, it slows things down a bit since more data is processed, and not as many commands can be held within the buffer. Bingo! Performance loss.

Think of a game cheat (trainer) injecting it's own code into a game. Similar thing here. Game thinks it's data is it's own, processes it, but instead of 100 life, you've got 10000.


We're talking about 1's and 0's here, not magic.

So sure, you can say "but I lost performance", but in reality, you didn't. The CPU is still performing as it should, and is processing data in the same way, it's just that it has to process a bit more now.

Horrors!


This really isn't as big of an issue as it seems to be, honestly. Security-wise, sure, it's a problem. But this problem has existed for a long time, and just because nobody knew it was being exploited does not mean that it hasn't been... I mean, the way I see it, this is part of why any system, be it Intel, AMD, ARM, or whatever, and any processor, whether it be in your PC or your phone, or your TV could and can be hacked for decades. These things do and can exist, and so I find myself asking WHY this is being presented as such a large issue... maybe you should ask yourself the same too.

 

[R-T-B]

I'm curious what is considered a "wannabe journalist" in this day and age...

I found most of the press coverage of the issue pretty accurate, considering how iffy the initial info was, anyhow. We tend to be the spur that gets companies to act, bear in mind (the press in general, not just TPU).

 

[EarthDog]

so I find myself asking WHY this is being presented as such a large issue...

the media... and how the uninformed can easily be swayed by any media...

 

[R-T-B]

Ok before I hop on the "let's hate the media" bandwagon...

would it be sacrilegious to ask what the pay is for a "wannabe journalist?"

I'm kidding, or so you should hope...

 

[cadaveca]

I'm curious what is considered a "wannabe journalist" in this day and age...

Doesn't exist.

"Blurred Lines".




Always look for allegory.

I found most of the press coverage of the issue pretty accurate, considering how iffy the initial info was, anyhow. We tend to be the spur that gets companies to act, bear in mind (the press in general, not just TPU).

I can't say I feel as you do, unfortunately.

But then, I'm outright crazy and maybe a bit paranoid. Being a parent does that to anyone .


You see, there is a reason, after all, that AMD and Intel are close-lipped about how these buffers actually work... Oh look, someone figures it out, and now we have a problem...

 

[R-T-B]

But then, I'm outright crazy and maybe a bit paranoid. Being a parent does that to anyone .

Thanks for the reminder to be cautious in my breeding habits.

 

[jsfitz54]

Ok before I hop on the "let's hate the media" bandwagon...

would it be sacrilegious to ask what the pay is for a "wannabe journalist?"

I'm kidding, or so you should hope...

SIR, YES SIR, MAY I HAVE ANOTHER SIR!

We all need to be very quiet and take the Orwellian dystopia in the ass and be happy.
Intel is now your Mother and Father. Intel will take care of you.
There's no reason to think for yourself, it's being done for you.
All hail Intel... and the 20 years of stock profit.

STOP THINKING ABOUT IT! Go to the feelies.

 

[StrayKAT]

SIR, YES SIR, MAY I HAVE ANOTHER SIR!

We all need to be very quiet and take the Orwellian dystopia in the ass and be happy.
Intel is now your Mother and Father. Intel will take care of you.
There's no reason to think for yourself, it's being done for you.
All hail Intel... and the 20 years of stock profit.

STOP THINKING ABOUT IT! Go to the feelies.

I'm concerned far more about services and software when it comes to dystopias. Intel is hardly a mother or father there. Just a chump player among many at this point. And they no longer have the clout to purposely piss off the likes of Google. This was just a mistake on their part.

 

[Bill_Bright]

This really isn't as big of an issue as it seems to be, honestly.

I agree.

I'm curious what is considered a "wannabe journalist" in this day and age...

A journalist is supposed to report the facts. Not embellish them. A journalist should not create sensationalized headlines just to seek personal attention.

A "wannabe journalist" is someone pretending to be a professional journalist. They are in it for personal attention and not for the purpose of informing the public of the unbiased truth.

The Journalist's Creed.

 

[Frag_Maniac]

The fact is most journalist walk a fine line between fact and fiction just due to the greedy corporate types they work for. Ever since news became a business, it can't fully be trusted. You always have to read between the lines.

 

[jsfitz54]

This was just a mistake on their part.

Bend over, here's the 55 Gallon Big Boy Lube job.

 

[StrayKAT]

Bend over, here's the 55 Gallon Big Boy Lube job.View attachment 96421

I'm irrelevant. Their real customers are bigger than even Intel themselves... and they wouldn't purposely screw them all. It's just not good business in the longrun. You're living in the 90s if you think they're some all-powerful juggernaut. Might as well use words like "Wintel" too... as if that means anything anymore.

 

[Zyll Goliat]

SIR, YES SIR, MAY I HAVE ANOTHER SIR!

We all need to be very quiet and take the Orwellian dystopia in the ass and be happy.
Intel is now your Mother and Father. Intel will take care of you.
There's no reason to think for yourself, it's being done for you.
All hail Intel... and the 20 years of stock profit.

STOP THINKING ABOUT IT! Go to the feelies.

 

[Bill_Bright]

You always have to read between the lines.

Which really would not be hard if the different news outlets didn't put those lines wherever they wanted (or wherever their paying sponsors wanted them). This is especially true with politics - and I am NOT starting a political discussion here. I am just saying if the news outlet owners lean to the right, the news will be presented only (and typically extremely) from the right. If the owners or sponsors lean to the left, the news will be presented only (and typically extremely) from the left.

There is no meeting in the middle - no compromising. It is all or nothing and who suffers? The 95% of us in the middle.

 

[jsfitz54]

who suffers? The 95% of us in the middle.

When 2 elephants fight, the grass suffers.

 

[Bill_Bright]

Same with 1 elephant and 1 donkey, I'm afraid. But we are not talking politics.

 

[StrayKAT]

That's one stubborn jackass to hold his own against an elephant.

Politics aside, I kind of felt like I got out of the Matrix after the 2016 election. I actually voted for Clinton, but after Trump won, it made me think how much lying had been going on in the media, when they kept saying how assured of victory she was.

 

[jsfitz54]

That's one stubborn jackass to hold his own against an elephant.

Politics aside, I kind of felt like I got out of the Matrix after the 2016 election. I actually voted for Clinton, but after Trump won, it made me think how much lying had been going on in the media, when they kept saying how assured of victory she was.

OH SHIT, the door is open for religion, sex and politics.
Let me get my fork and knife.

So a priest and a rabbi go.....

 

[StrayKAT]

OH SHIT, the door is open for religion, sex and politics.
Let me get my fork and knife.

Hah.. I didn't mean it. As I said, I voted for Clinton.. but at the same time, I'm trying to criticize the media brainwash on my own "side", if you will. I'm trying to be indifferent and a-political about it as I can get. I see it for what it is.. and it really is like the Matrix for me. I can't ever go back and "not see" it anymore. I trust the news far less in all kinds of subjects now.

"Why oh why didn't I take the Blue Pill?"

 

[sneekypeet]

Since the topic appears to have run its course and has turned into "let's talk about anything" I'm closing up shop.