Microsoft reinstates Meltdown/Spectre patches for some AMD processors — but which ones?

Credit to Author: Woody Leonhard| Date: Thu, 11 Jan 2018 09:38:00 -0800

As we rappel down the Patch Tuesday rabbit hole this month, Microsoft just announced that it’s going to start pushing its January Windows security patches onto AMD processors again. But it neglects to mention which ones. Per a late-night change to KB 4073707:

Microsoft has resumed updating the majority of AMD devices with the Windows operating system security update to help protect against the chipset vulnerabilities known as Spectre and Meltdown.

A small subset of older AMD processors remain blocked to avoid users getting into an unbootable state after installation of recent Windows operating system security updates. Microsoft is working with AMD to resolve this issue and should resume Windows OS security updates to this subset of AMD processors via Windows Update and WSUS by next week. For AMD device-specific information please refer to AMD’s Security Advisory.

Of course, AMD’s Security Advisory has very little information — and no mention at all about which AMD processors were originally removed from the list, and which are now apparently back on the patch list.

Conspicuously, this paragraph has been pulled from KB 4073707:

Microsoft has resumed updating the majority of AMD devices with the Windows operating system security update to help protect against the chipset vulnerabilities known as Spectre and Meltdown.

Which makes me wonder if Microsoft is still pointing the finger at AMD, or if the two have somehow come to a resolution of their spitting contest.

Which processors are now getting the Meltdown/Spectre treatment, and which “small subset of older AMD processors remain blocked”? Who knows.

The only information I’ve found about specific models comes from Dr. Adrian Wong on the TechArp site, who lists Athlon, Opteron, Sempron, Turion, A10 and Ryzen processors. He doesn’t mention which, if any, of those are now receiving patches.

Thx, @MrBrian.

Questions? Get your Athlon over to the AskWoody Lounge.

http://www.computerworld.com/category/security/index.rss