Intel patch causes a reboot error on older processors

This article is in the series: Overview of vulnerabilities on Intel, AMD, ARM chips: Meltdown and Specter. Please read all the articles in the series to get information as well as take steps to protect your device against these two serious security holes.

Intel was troubled in its efforts to protect its chip users from Meltdown and Specter, two serious vulnerabilities just announced last week. They warned their customers about three bugs on firmware updates and encouraged not to install the patch yet, the Wall Street Journal reported. According to Intel's announcement, the update may cause a reboot error on Haswell chip machines.

It seems that Specter isn't really that simple

Intel has known about Specter since June but rewriting the firmware to handle this vulnerability is obviously not easy. They pledged to protect 90% of CPUs produced in the last 5 years with patches on January 15, but technical errors could cause delays. Earlier this week, Microsoft also had to postpone AMD patch updates after some machines made a blue screen error when updating the patch, unable to boot.

The firmware patch is still known as the most difficult technical issue to face in Specter, much more difficult than patching the operating system or browser. These patches also have the risk of slowing down the device, although it is not yet clear how slow it will be. According to Intel's calculations, the new processor will only be under 5% but the tests have not taken into account the Haswell chip encountered today.

See more:

• How to know if your Windows computer is affected by Meltdown and Specter?
• Intel released Microcode for CPU Linux to fix Meltdown and Specter
• Error on CPU seriously affects cloud storage services