Find out what are, after all, the models of the processors affected by Spectre and Meltdown security flaw or vulnerability.
Meltdown and Spectre Vulnerabilities! What is the danger?
Both allow hackers to access sensitive information by accessing the device’s base memory. The first vulnerability, Meltdown, successfully removes the barrier between user applications and sensitive parts of the operating system. The second vulnerability, Spectre which is also found on AMD and ARM chips could make more vulnerable applications publish the contents of their memory. Applications installed on devices work normally in ‘user mode’. If an application needs access to a protected area – access to the underlying disk, network, or processor – then it must request authorization to use “safe mode”. In the case of Meltdown, a hacker can access security mode and main memory without asking for permission, successfully removing this barrier and allowing the eventual theft of RAM information from current applications such as password managers, search engines, emails, photos and documents. Since these are hardware errors, repairing them is quite a complex job. Patches have been issued against Meltdown for Linux, Windows and OS X, and progress is also being made to strengthen the software against future Spectre attacks. However, the tech giant Google has posted more information here https://meltdownattack.com/. It is essential that users should install the available patches immediately simply to combat or protect themselves from these two vulnerabilities.
But which Intel processors are affected?
According to a list published by the company itself, the affected processors are as follows:-
Intel® Core ™ i3 processor (45nm and 32nm). Intel® Core ™ i5 processor (45nm and 32nm). Intel® Core ™ i7 processor (45nm and 32nm). Intel® Core ™ M processor family (45nm and 32nm). 2nd generation Intel® Core ™ processors. 3rd generation Intel® Core ™ processors. 4th generation Intel® Core ™ processors. 5th generation Intel® Core ™ processors. 6th generation Intel® Core ™ processors. 7th generation Intel® Core ™ processors. 8th generation Intel® Core ™ processors. Intel® Core ™ X-series Processor Family for Intel® X99 platforms. Intel® Core ™ X-series Processor Family for Intel® X299 platforms. Intel® Xeon® processor 3400 series. Intel® Xeon® processor 3600 series. Intel® Xeon® processor 5500 series. Intel® Xeon® processor 5600 series. Intel® Xeon® processor 6500 series. Intel® Xeon® processor 7500 series. Intel® Xeon® Processor E3 Family. Intel® Xeon® Processor E3 v2 Family. Intel® Xeon® Processor E3 v3 Family. Intel® Xeon® Processor E3 v4 Family. Intel® Xeon® Processor E3 v5 Family. Intel® Xeon® Processor E3 v6 Family. Intel® Xeon® Processor E5 Family. Intel® Xeon® Processor E5 v2 Family. Intel® Xeon® Processor E5 v3 Family. Intel® Xeon® Processor E5 v4 Family. Intel® Xeon® Processor E7 Family. Intel® Xeon® Processor E7 v2 Family. Intel® Xeon® Processor E7 v3 Family. Intel® Xeon® Processor E7 v4 Family. Intel® Xeon® Processor Scalable Family. Intel® Xeon Phi ™ Processor 3200, 5200, 7200 Series. Intel® Atom ™ Processor C Series. Intel® Atom ™ Processor E Series. Intel® Atom ™ Processor A Series. Intel® Atom ™ Processor x3 Series. Intel® Atom ™ Processor Z Series. Intel® Celeron® Processor J Series. Intel® Celeron® Processor N Series. Intel® Pentium® Processor J Series. Intel® Pentium® Processor N Series.
According to the information, this list is not yet the final. As the giant chip maker, Intel also states that anyone with AMD, ARM and Qualcomm CPUs should contact their respective brands to perform the security update. So, what do you think about this? Simply share all your views and thoughts in the comment section below.
