Massive Security Flaw ‘Spectre’ Discovered, Affects Nearly All Systems Including Computers, Smartphones, and Servers

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We previously reported on a ‘fundamental’ security flaw affecting most modern Intel-made CPUs, where hackers could bypass the hardware barrier between applications run by users and the computer’s core memory. Now, another security flaw has been discovered that affects Intel, AMD and ARM manufactured CPUs.

Dubbed the “Spectre” flaw, it affects most modern processors made by a variety of manufacturers, including Intel, AMD, and even ARM. This means it affects not only desktops and laptops but also smartphones, cloud servers, and more.

The exploit allows hackers to trick error-free applications into giving up secret, otherwise thought to be protected information.

Intel, AMD, and ARM are reportedly working together to hopefully find a way to plug the side-channel exploit.

“I can confirm that Arm have been working together with Intel and AMD to address a side-channel analysis method which exploits speculative execution techniques used in certain high-end processors, including some of our Cortex-A processors,” said ARM public relations director Phil Hughes (via Wired). “This method requires malware running locally and could result in data being accessed from privileged memory.” Hughes also noted that ARM’s IoT-focused Cortex-M line is unaffected.

The scariest thing about the Spectre flaw is that because it tricks other applications into revealing information, it’s very difficult to find a catch-all fix that will plug the security hole for all users – unlike the Meltdown bug which can be patched at the OS level. Its name is also a nod to the fact that the flaw will haunt users and information security for some time.

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