Info Meltdown and Spectre Vulnerabilities Information

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goldstone77

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Keep a image of your boot drive, and download the updates as they come. You can always reload the image in ~15 minutes if you notice bad thing happening. Not updating your system is something I wouldn't advise anyone to do. Just take proper precautions. You are completely vulnerable if you do nothing!

The researchers developed proof-of-concept malware for SpectrePrime and ran it on a MacBook with an Intel Core i7 Processor running a version of macOS Sierra that hadn't received Apple's Meltdown and Spectre patches.

"Averaged over 100 runs, we observed SpectrePrime to achieve the same average accuracy as Spectre on the same hardware -- 97.9 percent for Spectre and 99.95 percent for SpectrePrime," they write.

Like the article you link says no protection at all will leave you more vulnerable to new variations 99.95%!
 

YoAndy

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Google's Chromium developers assessed that the attacks could impact browsers that support JavaScript and WebAssembly when executing externally code from a website.

As Apple noted after issuing its patches, the Spectre attacks are extremely difficult to exploit, even if a malicious app is running locally on a macOS or iOS device. However, the attacks can be exploited in JavaScript running in the browser. A successful attack could expose passwords and other secrets. IF you are not using Javascript you should be a lot safer...
 

YoAndy

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I agree...
 

goldstone77

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Most browsers are at least partly made of JavaScript! You are basically browsing around with an open door! Best to find a secure web browser. I use a virtualbox of unbuntu to surf the internet to provide a buffer from my main system.
V8 is Google’s open source high-performance JavaScript engine, written in C++ and used in Google Chrome, the open source browser from Google, and in Node.js, among others. It implements ECMAScript as specified in ECMA-262, and runs on Windows 7 or later, macOS 10.5+, and Linux systems that use IA-32, ARM, or MIPS processors. V8 can run standalone, or can be embedded into any C++ application.
https://developers.google.com/v8/
 

randomizer

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And there are many millions of devices that will never have protection.



JS isn't an API, it's a language. Furthermore, for something to be obsolete it must be replaced or made redundant. Nothing is even close to doing either to JS.



You'll be waiting a while. A long while.

 

YoAndy

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Frankly, I think if we can get rid of JavaScript, we'd be much better served by getting rid of the whole HTML/CSS/JS stack too, and starting from scratch with some good ideas. Whatever technology replaced it would still have to work with the existing DOM, and all the broken HTML/XHTML/HTML5 out there, so you'd be making a language which is compromised with that legacy before you've even exited beta.
WebAssembly is a new project being worked on by people from Mozilla, Microsoft, Google, and Apple, to produce a bytecode for the Web. WebAssembly, or wasm for short, is intended to be a portable bytecode that will be efficient for browsers to download and load, providing a more efficient target for compilers than plain JavaScript or even asm.js

Major browsers begin journey nearer machine-code performance with WebAssembly https://thestack.com/world/2016/03/15/webassembly-chrome-edge-firefox-angry-bots/
 
Obligatory: https://xkcd.com/927/

In any case, languages are never the problem. Bad coding is.

The problem with JS is that Google has been pushing too hard for it, but now that a problem as serious as this has come to light, they have to back down from a lot of time invested in polishing something. Sucks for everyone, unfortunately. That being said, JS is not easy to replace. It's been one of those monsters that's been feeding itself to the point of being too important for the modern web.

I wonder if Flash has the same problems? It should have them at first glance, at least.

At the end of the day, KISS rules. Pages that have too much JS are cancer anyway.

Cheers!
 
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/amd-flaws-ryzenfall-masterkey-fallout-chimera,36656.html

Wow...

That opening statement from CTS is stupid to say the least: "yeah, we can't commit to our results, but we're 100% sure they do happen".

What is that, a friggin' joke? I'm not saying this is not true, but this is nasty to say the least. If it wasn't for Toms reporting it, I'd scream "FUD" and "money grab". These sort of news is great at changing the market value of a company you want to get dividends from; specially AMD.

EDIT: "When was the last time you saw a security advisory that was basically 'if you replace the BIOS or the CPU microcode with an evil version, you might have a security problem'? Yeah." .- Linus

Cheers!
 

goldstone77

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It's a pretty blatant hack job. These guys try to short stocks and publish reports https://www.reddit.com/r/southafrica/comments/7tzlew/capitec_a_wolf_in_sheeps_clothing_the_guys_who/
 
While there is clearly an ulterior motive to this release of information, it appears the vulnerabilities are genuine:

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2018/03/a-raft-of-flaws-in-amd-chips-make-bad-hacks-much-much-worse/
 

goldstone77

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Three of the exploits require that “an attacker be able to run a program with local-machine elevated administrator privileges. Accessing the Secure Processor is done through a vendor supplied driver that is digitally signed,” while Masterkey “requires an attacker to be able to re-flash the BIOS with a specially crafted BIOS update.” This would theoretically be done remotely on a system that supports BIOS flashing from within the OS. One of the experts we contacted pointed out that, with local admin access or the ability to flash BIOS, an attacker would probably be able to install malware on any system, AMD or not. Intel is proportionally affected in this position.
https://www.gamersnexus.net/industry/3260-assassination-attempt-on-amd-by-viceroy-research-cts-labs
It appears that if you flash your bios with an evil one bad things happen! This is a pathetic hack job...
 

YoAndy

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While AMD chips are supposed to require the firmware that runs on them to be digitally signed, Guido said (Dan Guido is a chip security expert and the CEO of security firm Trail of Bits), the exploits massage the code in a way that allows uploaded firmware to pass validation checks without a valid signature. Once the attacker's malicious firmware is running on the processor, it's nearly impossible to detect using today's tools. What's more, the firmware has direct access to protected memory, hard drives, input/output devices and other computer components that might be out of bounds to more traditional malware. This is is what Gido said.... "All the exploits work as described,". "The package that was shared with me had well-documented, well-described write-ups for each individual bug. They're not fake. All these things are real. I'm trying to be a measured voice. I'm not hyping them. I'm not dismissing them."..

Tuesday's report went on to warn that the Chimera vulnerabilities resulting from the purported backdoors may be impossible to fix.

As explained earlier, the report's findings are highly nuanced because they're premised on an already serious compromise that allows attackers to gain administrative control of a computer running one of the vulnerable AMD processors. That steep bar is countered by an achievement that's not possible with most exploits Specifically:

The ability to take complete control over the affected machine, including parts that are normally isolated from malware
The ability to run malicious code before the operating system boots and for infections to persist even after the operating system is reinstalled
The ability to bypass advanced protections such as Windows 10 Credential Guard..
Those are serious treats..

https://amdflaws.com/

https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2018/03/a-raft-of-flaws-in-amd-chips-make-bad-hacks-much-much-worse/
 

goldstone77

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You are regurgitating bile here. Key components in those exploits:
1. If you flash your bios with another evil bios bad things could happen.
2. If you give admin/root access to someone they can exploit your computer.
Any reasonable person can see through this garbage that is being spewed. "they're not fake" but these vulnerabilities are a joke, because anyone with that kind of access to a computer can do whatever they want anyway it doesn't matter if it's AMD or Intel. It amazes me how many people fall for this crap hook line and sinker.
 

YoAndy

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They are not talking about just only one problem with AMD but multiple...... And a file or exploit contains executable code that runs on the victim’s machine either automatically or by tricking the user into executing the attacker’s content. If the victim user’s account has administrative privileges, the attacker can take over the victim’s machine completely and install keystroke loggers, sniffers, and remote control software to find administrative passwords and other sensitive data.

https://youtu.be/BDByiRhMjVA

https://thehackernews.com/2018/03/amd-processor-vulnerabilities.html
 
Looking at it this way: all CPUs have a serious security flaws - us, humans. We all know how easy it is to trick average user to allow execution of malicious code. But this AMD flaw discussion is strictly off topic here as has nothing to do with Spectre/Meltdown.
 

Gon Freecss

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It can be stacked over Spectre.

 

goldstone77

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Read what you are posting! Have you ever had a computer virus? Please tell me you are joking... You think this is any different from any other computer on the planet?
 

YoAndy

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No they are not. But that's not the point.... The point is..

RYZENFALL (v1, v2, v3, v4) AMD Vulnerabilities
These flaws reside in AMD Secure OS and affect Ryzen secure processors (workstation/pro/mobile).
amd-secure-processor-hacking
According to researchers, RYZENFALL vulnerabilities allow unauthorized code execution on the Ryzen Secure Processor, eventually letting attackers access protected memory regions, inject malware into the processor itself, and disable SMM protections against unauthorized BIOS reflashing.
Attackers could also use RYZENFALL to bypass Windows Credential Guard and steal network credentials, and then use the stolen data to spread across to other computers within that network (even highly secure Windows corporate networks).
RYZENFALL can also be combined with another issue called MASTERKEY (detailed below) to install persistent malware on the Secure Processor, "exposing customers to the risk of covert and long-term industrial espionage."

FALLOUT (v1, v2, v3) AMD Vulnerabilities
These vulnerabilities reside in the bootloader component of EPYC secure processor and allow attackers to read from and write to protected memory areas, such as SMRAM and Windows Credential Guard isolated memory.
FALLOUT attacks only affect servers using AMD's EPYC secure processors and could be exploited to inject persistent malware into VTL1, where the Secure Kernel and Isolated User Mode (IUM) execute code.
Like RYZENFALL, FALLOUT also let attackers bypass BIOS flashing protections, and steal network credentials protected by Windows Credential Guard.
"EPYC servers are in the process of being integrated into data centers around the world, including at Baidu and Microsoft Azure Cloud, and AMD has recently announced that EPYC and Ryzen embedded processors are being sold as high-security solutions for mission-critical aerospace and defense systems," researchers say.
"We urge the security community to study the security of these devices in depth before allowing them on mission-critical systems that could potentially put lives at risk."

CHIMERA (v1, v2) AMD Vulnerabilities
These two vulnerabilities are actually hidden manufacturer backdoors inside AMD's Promontory chipsets that are an integral part of all Ryzen and Ryzen Pro workstations.
amd-secure-processor-ryzen-EPYC-hacking
One backdoor has been implemented in firmware running on the chip, while the other in the chip's hardware (ASIC), and allow attackers to run arbitrary code inside the AMD Ryzen chipset, or to re-flash the chip with persistent malware.
Since WiFi, network and Bluetooth traffic flows through the chipset, an attacker could exploit the chipset's man-in-the-middle position to launch sophisticated attacks against your device.
"This, in turn, could allow for firmware-based malware that has full control over the system, yet is notoriously difficult to detect or remove. Such malware could manipulate the operating system through Direct Memory Access (DMA), while remaining resilient against most endpoint security products," researchers say.
According to the researchers, it may be possible to implement a stealthy keylogger by listening to USB traffic that flows through the chipset, allowing attackers to see everything a victim types on the infected computer.
"Because the latter has been manufactured into the chip, a direct fix may not be possible, and the solution may involve either a workaround or a recall," researchers warn.

MASTERKEY (v1, v2, v3) AMD Vulnerabilities
These three vulnerabilities in EPYC and Ryzen (workstation/pro/mobile) processors could allow attackers to bypass hardware validated boot to re-flash BIOS with a malicious update and infiltrate the Secure Processor to achieve arbitrary code execution.
Like RYZENFALL and FALLOUT, MASTERKEY also allows attackers to install stealthy and persistent malware inside AMD Secure Processor, "running in kernel-mode with the highest possible permissions," as well as bypass Windows Credential Guard to facilitate network credential theft.
MASTERKEY vulnerabilities also allow attackers to disable security features such as Firmware Trusted Platform Module (fTPM) and Secure Encrypted Virtualization (SEV).

It's notable that all these vulnerabilities require either low-privilege access, or administrative in some cases, on the targeted system to work.

https://thehackernews.com/2018/03/amd-processor-vulnerabilities.html
 
D

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This. These have nothing to do with Meltdown and Spectre. This is off topic bickering.

You are regurgitating bile here.

Getting might close to personal attacks here. Keep it civil.
 

goldstone77

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Subtracting all the crap labeled vulnerabilities in-between and we have 2 main points to remember. Your first statement, and the last statement.


1. If you have a compromised system it can be exploited, just like anyone else's computer can.
2. If you flash your bios with a malicious software it can be controlled, just like anyone else's computer can.

The truth is that this whole thing is a scam created to cause a drop in AMD's stock price by a newly made unheard of company using a website created by viceroyresearch.org(a shell corp for a hedge fund), which almost no one fell for.

And I'm done...
 
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