MICROSOFT ISSUES EMERGENCY UPDATES TO ADDRESS PROCESSOR EXPLOIT
The new year has only just begun, and already serious security vulnerabilities in processors were revealed. The so-called Meltdown and Spectre flaws allow attackers to steal sensitive data from the system memory.
There appears to be a flaw in Intel processors that lets attackers bypass kernel access protections so that regular apps can read the contents of kernel memory. Microsoft released a security patch prior to Patch Tuesday to protect Windows devices against vulnerabilities affecting supported hardware chips.
Other versions will receive the update next week as scheduled.
Additionally, the Microsoft updates are not all-out fixes. Some Windows PCs may require additional CPU firmware updates to protect against Spectre attacks, but the Microsoft updates appear to fully address the Meltdown flaw.
Lansweeper can tell you in no time which devices are vulnerable and need to be patched. You can find the
preliminary report and additional information in
this forum post. In the following days, we’ll update to report as soon as new information arrives.
