From PC World: Intel recently finished its barrage of CPU microcode updates designed to combat the nasty Spectre variant 2 exploit, and on Tuesday, AMD revealed its own plans to protect PCs against the flaw. (AMD processors aren’t vulnerable to Meltdown.)
AMD’s announcement, penned by chief technical officer Mark Papermaster, released alongside Microsoft’s monthly “Patch Tuesday” update. It showcases how complex plugging Meltdown and Spectre’s security holes can be. Today’s Windows 10 updates include code containing Spectre variant 2 mitigations at an operating system level, similar to how a Windows update in early January protected against Specter variant 1.
But unlike that earlier patch, today’s Windows update is only part of the solution. AMD says it’s also released CPU firmware updates with “our recommended mitigations addressing Variant 2” to the company’s hardware partners, with patches available for processors going back to CPUs built on the “Bulldozer” architecture in 2011. (Intel’s firmware updates stop around the same time frame.) The post doesn’t specify which processors received patches, but presumably AMD’s newer Ryzen processors were at the front of the line. Fingers crossed.
Also cross your fingers that your system will even see the motherboard updates needed to apply AMD’s new CPU firmware. You don’t download Spectre mitigations directly from Intel or AMD; instead, you need to wait for the maker of your motherboard or pre-built desktop to release a new BIOS with the fixes wrapped in. A quick check of a handful of prominent Ryzen X370 motherboards didn’t show any April BIOS updates, though Tech Report says it was able to fully patch one of its systems. Patience is key, it seems.
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