A New CPU Flaw Discovered By Google and Microsoft

Based on a joint decision, Google and Microsoft will be disclosing a new CPU security vulnerability which will be similar to the Meltdown and Spectre defect which were leaked earlier this year. Named as Speculative Store Bypass, it is a similar exploit to Spectre which also exploits speculative execution that CPU’s of modern day is using. Safari, Chrome and Edge etc were all repaired for Meltdown in early 2018. Intel said that these remedies are applicable to Speculative Store Bypass also known as variant 4 and is available for consumers to use today.

These firmware updates for CPUs will affect and boost performance unlike Meltdown and similar to Spectre. Intel has provided the microcode updates for Variant 4 in beta form to OEMs and the organization is expecting them to be more available in the upcoming weeks. The updates will set Speculative Store Bypass protect to off so that many people couldn’t see the negative impact of the performance. Microsoft will be offering around $250,000 for viruses and bugs which are similar to Meltdown and Spectre CPU flaws in March this year and the new bug was discovered back in November. Microsoft is working with Intel and AMD for enhancing the performance of systems and find out the performance impact. Intel is working on their CPU changes for near future so that the redesigning protects them against attacks like Spectre and Variant 4.

By: Swati Kaushal

Content: https://www.theverge.com/2018/5/21/17377994/google-microsoft-cpu-vulnerability-speculative-store-bypass-variant-4