Guru3D.com
  • HOME
  • NEWS
    • Channels
    • Archive
  • DOWNLOADS
    • New Downloads
    • Categories
    • Archive
  • GAME REVIEWS
  • ARTICLES
    • Rig of the Month
    • Join ROTM
    • PC Buyers Guide
    • Guru3D VGA Charts
    • Editorials
    • Dated content
  • HARDWARE REVIEWS
    • Videocards
    • Processors
    • Audio
    • Motherboards
    • Memory and Flash
    • SSD Storage
    • Chassis
    • Media Players
    • Power Supply
    • Laptop and Mobile
    • Smartphone
    • Networking
    • Keyboard Mouse
    • Cooling
    • Search articles
    • Knowledgebase
    • More Categories
  • FORUMS
  • NEWSLETTER
  • CONTACT

New Reviews
AMD Ryzen 5 5600 review
PowerColor RX 6650 XT Hellhound White review
FSP Hydro PTM Pro (1200W PSU) review
ASUS ROG Radeon RX 6750 XT STRIX review
AMD FidelityFX Super Resolution 2.0 - preview
Sapphire Radeon RX 6650 XT Nitro+ review
Sapphire Radeon RX 6950 XT Sapphire Nitro+ Pure review
Sapphire Radeon RX 6750 XT Nitro+ review
MSI Radeon RX 6950 XT Gaming X TRIO review
MSI Radeon RX 6750 XT Gaming X TRIO review

New Downloads
AIDA64 Download Version 6.70
FurMark Download v1.30
Display Driver Uninstaller Download version 18.0.5.1
Download Samsung Magician v7.1.1.820
Intel ARC graphics Driver Download Version: 30.0.101.1732
HWiNFO Download v7.24
GeForce 512.77 WHQL driver download
Intel HD graphics Driver Download Version: 30.0.101.1960
AMD Radeon Software Adrenalin 22.5.1 WHQL driver download
3DMark Download v2.22.7359 + Time Spy


New Forum Topics
MSI AB / RTSS development news thread Multiplane overlay issues Herman Miller and Logitech G Enhance the Embody Chair For Pro Gamers Review: AMD Ryzen 5 5600 processor NVIDIA GeForce 512.77 WHQL driver download & Discussion AMD Patents Automatic Memory Overclocking Tool 3090 Ti owners thread 5900x or 5800x3D? ASMedia to Launch USB4 Host-Controllers This Year Gigabyte confirms AMD X670 chipset based motherboards Computex 2022 Press Release




Guru3D.com » News » Three new vulnerabilities in Intel processors discovered - L1TF

Three new vulnerabilities in Intel processors discovered - L1TF

by Hilbert Hagedoorn on: 08/15/2018 08:54 AM | source: the register | 40 comment(s)
Three new vulnerabilities in Intel processors discovered - L1TF

Intel announced that three new serious vulnerabilities have been discovered for their processors, allowing unauthorized access to data in the L1 cache. The vulnerabilities are named L1 Terminal Fault, or L1TF.

L1TF vulnerabilities are made public in an announcement they also put up a page about the measures that have been taken about the new side channel attacks in a white paper about L1TF . The vulnerabilities effects both consumer processors and in Xeon server processors. They can be exploited by malware and malicious virtual machines to potentially steal secret information from computer memory, reports the register:

These secrets can include passwords, personal and financial records, and encryption keys. They can be potentially lifted from other applications and other customers' virtual machines, as well as SGX enclaves, and System Management Mode (SMM) memory. SGX is Intel's technology that is supposed to protect these secrets from snooping code. SMM is your computer's hidden janitor that has total control over the hardware, and total access to its data.

Across the board, Intel's desktop, workstation, and server CPUs are vulnerable. Crucially, they do not work as documented: where their technical manuals say memory can be marked off limits, it simply is not. This means malicious software on a vulnerable machine, and guest virtual machines on a cloud platform can potentially lift sensitive data from other software and other customers' virtual machines. 

It is the clearest example yet that, over time, Chipzilla's management traded security for speed: their processors execute software at a screaming rate, with memory protection mechanisms a mere afterthought. In the pursuit of ever-increasing performance, defenses to protect people's data became optional.

Redesigned Intel processors without these speculative execution design blunders are expected to start shipping later this year. Mitigations in the form of operating system patches, and hypervisor fixes, should be arriving any time now, and should be installed if you're worried about malware or malicious virtual machines slurping data. Keep your eyes peeled for these. Some of these software mitigations require Intel's Q2 2018 microcode update to be installed.

Here are the three cockups, which Intel has dubbed its L1 Terminal Fault (L1TF) bugs because they involve extracting secret information from the CPU level-one data cache:

  • CVE-2018-3615: This affects Software Guard Extensions (SGX), and was discovered by various academics who will reveal their findings this week at the Usenix Security Symposium. According to Intel, "systems with microprocessors utilizing speculative execution and software guard extensions (Intel SGX) may allow unauthorized disclosure of information residing in the L1 data cache from an enclave to an attacker with local user access via side-channel analysis." This vulnerability was named Foreshadow by the team who uncovered it. This will require the microcode update to fix.
  • CVE-2018-3620: This affects operating systems and SMM. According to Intel, "systems with microprocessors utilizing speculative execution and address translations may allow unauthorized disclosure of information residing in the L1 data cache to an attacker with local user access via a terminal page fault and side-channel analysis." Operating system kernels will need patching, and the SMM requires the microcode update, to be protected.
  • CVE-2018-3646: This affects hypervisors and virtual machines. According to Intel, "systems with microprocessors utilizing speculative execution and address translations may allow unauthorized disclosure of information residing in the L1 data cache to an attacker with local user access with guest OS privilege via a terminal page fault and side-channel analysis." This will require the microcode, operating system, and hypervisor updates to protect data.

The operating system and hypervisor-level flaws – CVE-2018-3620 and CVE-2018-3646 – were discovered by Intel's engineers after they were tipped off about CVE-2018-3615, the SGX issue, by the university researchers. The impact of these vulnerabilities, according to Chipzilla.



Three new vulnerabilities in Intel processors discovered - L1TF Three new vulnerabilities in Intel processors discovered - L1TF Three new vulnerabilities in Intel processors discovered - L1TF Three new vulnerabilities in Intel processors discovered - L1TF




« Cooler Master Launches its MasterLiquid ML360R RGB CPU Cooler · Three new vulnerabilities in Intel processors discovered - L1TF · Rune: Ragnarok - PC system requirements »

Related Stories

Nvidia EEC registrations indicate three new GeForce GPUs - 08/09/2018 05:29 PM
Remember the Manli entries? It's happening again. This round Nvidia has registrations active that point to the arrival of three models GeForce video cards. Earlier on the PCB of one of the cards alr...

iiyama celebrates three new G-Master monitors and the new G-Master logo - 05/17/2018 04:43 PM
iiyama celebrates the introduction of three new G-Master monitors and the new G-Master logo, iiyama launches a pan European competition where fans can win one of 10 brand new Black Hawk and Red Eagle...

Phanteks releases three new colors for Eclipse P300 - 04/19/2018 08:07 AM
Phanteks is releasing three new colors to the P300 Lineup: Black/Red, Black/White, and White. With its full metal exterior and a tempered glass side panel....

WD unveils three new G-Technology data solutions - 04/10/2018 07:25 AM
Western Digital unveils three new G-Technology data solutions, its G-Technology G-DRIVE and G-SPEED Shuttle product families. Working with large 4K and 8K RAW video means massive file sizes and is u...

Iiyama Adds Three New White Colored Monitors - 12/19/2017 10:50 AM
Three popular iiyama models, the 24’’ ProLite XUB2492HSU, 27’’ ProLite B2791HSU and ProLite XUB2792QSU are now available in a stylish white design. Bringing ele...


8 pages 1 2 3 4 > »


HardwareCaps
Senior Member



Posts: 452
Joined: 2018-05-03

#5573932 Posted on: 08/15/2018 09:04 AM
Jeez,Will it ever end? at least it seems like virtual machines again are only affected

Fox2232
Senior Member



Posts: 11809
Joined: 2012-07-20

#5573934 Posted on: 08/15/2018 09:07 AM
Jeez,Will it ever end? at least it seems like virtual machines again are only affected

Nope. It says that even virtual machine isolation is not going to protect your server.

Dazz
Senior Member



Posts: 974
Joined: 2001-08-12

#5573946 Posted on: 08/15/2018 09:59 AM
2017 and 2018 has been a couple of rough years for Intel.

lucidus
Senior Member



Posts: 11835
Joined: 2011-12-31

#5573950 Posted on: 08/15/2018 10:13 AM
Processors with Windows XP level of security and removing features from the i7 ... bleh. Patches were included in yesterday's Windows Updates afaik.

nosirrahx
Senior Member



Posts: 392
Joined: 2013-04-05

#5573955 Posted on: 08/15/2018 10:40 AM
Jeez,Will it ever end?


It will with a new security focused architecture.

The issue is that entire current architecture prioritized performance over security. Predicting all potential exploits is impossible and patching them involves breaking stuff the processor depends on to be fast. This is a lose/lose proposition.

Intel's own Optane and VROC tech are some of the biggest victims. These both have 25% or greater performance hits from these ongoing patches.

8 pages 1 2 3 4 > »


Post New Comment
Click here to post a comment for this news story on the message forum.


Guru3D.com © 2022