Intel is about to release a 'mysterious' patch for processors released since 2017, users note

It's not often that Intel releases an out-of-the-box patch that applies to most modern processors. But that's exactly the situation that will happen this week.

According to a new report from PCWorld, processor models released between 2017 and the current 13th generation have been listed in the code of an upcoming patch, which is being posted on the company's GitHub page. Intel. In other words, if your PC is running on an Intel processor released between 2017 and now, you should receive a system patch within the next few days.

Nothing is listed explaining the purpose of the microcode, which was first posted on May 12. Apparently, this has led some to doubt that Intel is addressing security concerns on a large scale with an emergency patch.

The good news is that Intel has also responded to this issue, and the content is generally relatively positive.

Microcode update 20230512 released on May 12, 2023 does not contain any security updates. And the note, [INTEL-SA-NA], is intended to convey that there are no current security updates in the package. The microcode update only includes additional functionality (also documented in the product error).

It's possible to get a statement from Intel that doesn't actually explain the nature of the patch — but makes it clear that there aren't any security-related issues.

Currently, information about the upcoming patch is very limited. We may have to wait until it's included in a future motherboard or Windows BIOS update to get a more detailed look. This is usually the destination of updates from Intel.

Kareem Winters

Update 17 May 2024