Old AMD and Intel chipsets are now suffering from new Spectre vulnerabilities. Cybersecurity researchers claimed that these two new flaws are associated with the so-called Spectre Variant 2 security issue.
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For those who are not familiar with the Spectre flaws, these are security weaknesses that affect modern microprocessors, especially those designed to perform branch predictions and other forms of speculative computing activities.
Now, experts discovered two new variants of Spectre; CVE-2022-29901 (affecting Intel SoCs) and CVE-2022-29900 (found on AMD chipsets).
Old AMD, Intel Chipsets Suffer From New Spectre Vulnerabilities
According to MakeUseOf's latest report, affected models are Intel Core generation 6 to 8 processors. On the other hand, the AMD chip units suffering from the new flaws are Zen 1, Zen 1+, as well as Zen 2 models.
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An Intel chip is seen in a circuit board being built at an ECI Telecom high-tech plant January 15, 2003 in Petah Tikva which is located in central Israel. ECI Telecom.
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COMSEC explained that the two new flaws are called Retbleed. It is the latest addition to the Spectre vulnerability family.
Unlike other vulnerabilities, the new Retbleed flaws can exploit return transactions. Security experts claimed that the appearance of Retbleed is a big deal since it can undermine some of the existing Spectre-BTI defenses.
They added that it is responsible for acquiring data stolen by another vulnerability, allowing hackers to exploit sensitive user information.
Spectre Vulnerability's Severity
As of press time, cybersecurity researchers still haven't discovered how hackers can exploit the two new Spectre variants.
On the other hand, there are no actual hacking activities using the new flaws were recorded by the two giant SoC developers.
However, security experts clarified that this doesn't mean that cybercriminals will not use the vulnerabilities to breach user data.
They added that one issue is concerning AMD and Intel. This is because the new security patches for the latest Spectre vulnerabilities are expected to cause a hefty overhead on the affected processing chip models.
Although this is the case, both of the tech manufacturers will still be forced to launch their upcoming fixes for the flaws so that people will fall victims to possible exploits.
If you want to see further details about the new Retbleed Spectre variants, you can visit this link.
Meanwhile, a new CISA Log4shell risk warning has been issued after experts announced that all unpatched VMWare systems are at risk.
Previously, rumors claimed that U.S.-based chipsets are being used by the Chinese military to become an "AI powerhouse."
For more news updates about chipset vulnerabilities and other security threats, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.
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Written by: Griffin Davis
