AMD Processor Security Updates

[FrgMstr]

Spectre Mitigation Update - 4/10/18

Today, AMD is providing updates regarding our recommended mitigations for Google Project Zero (GPZ) Variant 2 (Spectre) for Microsoft Windows users. These mitigations require a combination of processor microcode updates from our OEM and motherboard partners, as well as running the current and fully up-to-date version of Windows. For Linux users, AMD recommended mitigations for GPZ Variant 2 were made available to our Linux partners and have been released to distribution earlier this year.

As a reminder, GPZ Variant 1 (Spectre) mitigation is provided through operating system updates that were made available previously by AMD ecosystem partners. GPZ Variant 3 (Meltdown) does not apply to AMD because of our processor design.

While we believe it is difficult to exploit Variant 2 on AMD processors, we actively worked with our customers and partners to deploy the above described combination of operating system patches and microcode updates for AMD processors to further mitigate the risk. A whitepaper detailing the AMD recommended mitigation for Windows is available, as well as links to ecosystem resources for the latest updates.

Operating System Updates for GPZ Variant 2/Spectre

Microsoft is releasing an operating system update containing Variant 2 (Spectre) mitigations for AMD users running Windows 10 (version 1709) today. Support for these mitigations for AMD processors in Windows Server 2016 is expected to be available following final validation and testing.

AMD Microcode Updates for GPZ Variant 2/Spectre

In addition, microcode updates with our recommended mitigations addressing Variant 2 (Spectre) have been released to our customers and ecosystem partners for AMD processors dating back to the first “Bulldozer” core products introduced in 2011.

AMD customers will be able to install the microcode by downloading BIOS updates provided by PC and server manufacturers and motherboard providers. Please check with your provider for the latest updates.


We will provide further updates as appropriate on this site as AMD and the industry continue our collaborative work to develop solutions to protect users from security threats.


Mark Papermaster, Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer

 

[velusip]

Very cool. It's also good insight into support lines from various companies. Obviously Microsoft, Redhat, and Ubuntu are on the ball, but Suse is a pleasant surprise.

Similarly Acer, Dell, Gigabyte, HP, HPE, Lenovo, and Supermicro are pushing firmware. Unfortunately I went with ASRock and am unsure if they will ever give a damn about the problems in their firmware past the initial AGESA update.

 

[chaos4u]

these bios updates for ryzen have been really painfull .. still wating for a decent bios from msi for my x399

 

[travisty]

I've updated ryzen boards from both asus and asrock all w/o a problem.

I remember the last MSI board i had a few years back was a pos and horrible bios. It may be msi just continues to suck

 

[Nobu]

Very cool. It's also good insight into support lines from various companies. Obviously Microsoft, Redhat, and Ubuntu are on the ball, but Suse is a pleasant surprise.

Similarly Acer, Dell, Gigabyte, HP, HPE, Lenovo, and Supermicro are pushing firmware. Unfortunately I went with ASRock and am unsure if they will ever give a damn about the problems in their firmware past the initial AGESA update.

SuSE Enterprise used to be a pretty big deal (maybe not as big as RHEL, but it was certainly bigger than Ubuntu at one point, and may still be to some people), so it shouldn't be a big surprise.

 

[velusip]

SuSE Enterprise used to be a pretty big deal (maybe not as big as RHEL, but it was certainly bigger than Ubuntu at one point, and may still be to some people), so it shouldn't be a big surprise.

The surprise had more to do with personal coincidence. I'm familiar with their presence in the Point of Sale devices and small business infrastructure -- which is a highly vulnerable environment -- so it's nice to see.

 

[/dev/null]

Not expecting a bios update for am3+ but wondering if Thuban (1045T, 1090T) are safe under windows 7 via updates, and/or Linux with a recent kernel.

Anyone know?