Novel Downfall Bug is Targeting Intel CPUs to Steal Encryption Keys, and Data

 

Remember those severe Meltdown and Spectre CPU bugs that were discovered nearly five years ago? Intel is once again in hot water due to a severe vulnerability that impacts chips dating back years. 

The vulnerability, dubbed “Downfall,” exploits a flaw in the AVX vector extensions of every Intel CPU from Skylake to the most current 12th-generation Alder Lake chips.

Macs using these processors first appeared in late 2015, with the 21.5-inch iMac, and nearly every Intel-based Mac-desktop or laptop-since then has been affected. Apple started employing its own CPUs in 2020, rather than the newer 12th and 13th-generation Intel processors (which aren’t affected by the vulnerability anyhow). 

What exactly is Downfall? 

Daniel Moghimi, the researcher who identified the vulnerability, developed a microsite about it and summarises it as follows: 

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This article has been indexed from CySecurity News – Latest Information Security and Hacking Incidents

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