Source URL: https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/24/10/19/0619245/spectre-flaws-still-haunt-intel-amd-as-researchers-found-fresh-attack-method?utm_source=rss1.0mainlinkanon&utm_medium=feed
Source: Slashdot
Title: Spectre Flaws Still Haunt Intel, AMD as Researchers Found Fresh Attack Method
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AI Summary and Description: Yes
Summary: The newly disclosed cross-process Spectre attack exposes persistent flaws in Intel and AMD processors, hindering full mitigation efforts six years after the vulnerabilities’ original report. Researchers from ETH Zurich demonstrated that despite defenses like the indirect branch predictor barrier (IBPB), an exploit remains viable, leading to serious security implications for both Intel and AMD architectures.
Detailed Description:
The article discusses critical security vulnerabilities associated with recent Intel and AMD processors, particularly focusing on the often-overlooked Spectre transient execution processor design flaws. These flaws were initially revealed six years ago, but comprehensive solutions are still lacking.
Key Points:
– **New Spectre Attack Details**: Researchers at ETH Zurich uncovered a cross-process Spectre attack that circumvents Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR), allowing leakage of sensitive information, such as the root password hash.
– **Vulnerable Architectures**: The vulnerabilities affect recent Intel processors (specifically the 12th to 14th generation Core processors and 5th to 6th generation Xeon processors) and certain AMD processors manufactured with the Zen 2 architecture.
– **IBPB’s Inadequacies**: The indirect branch predictor barrier (IBPB), intended to secure processors against Spectre v2 attacks, has a significant implementation flaw. The research indicates that branch predictions are not properly invalidated post-IBPB application, enabling attackers to exploit this gap.
– **Memory Leakage**: Attacks can leak arbitrary kernel memory from both Intel and AMD processors, raising red flags for security across enterprise and cloud environments, particularly for unprivileged processes.
– **Patch Efforts**: Intel has made attempts to address these issues with microcode patches (e.g., INTEL-SA-00982), yet there are indications that not all Intel hardware has received necessary updates. AMD acknowledged the problem but classified it as a software bug requiring future mitigation from hypervisor and operating system vendors.
– **Collaboration with Linux Kernel Maintainers**: The ETH Zurich team is collaborating with Linux kernel maintainers to provide patches, emphasizing the importance of community and open-source responsiveness in identifying and resolving vulnerabilities.
The implications of these findings are significant for security professionals working with AI, cloud computing, and infrastructure security. The persistence of such vulnerabilities signals a continuing challenge in processor security, necessitating vigilance in patch management and system configuration to mitigate risks. Compliance and governance frameworks must adapt to address these evolving threats, ensuring that software and hardware maintain sufficient safeguards against exploitation.