Chip Vulnerabilities: Meltdown and Spectre

The latest trending news causing widespread concern is that there are CPU manufacturer chip exploits which have been recently discovered. Intel which are the main processor used in Apple products are the initlally listed manufacturer but this vulnerability is not limited solely to them.

There are a series of newly discovered vulnerabilities affecting most modern processor chips which could permit attackers to gain unauthorised access to a computer’s memory. Dubbed ‘Meltdown’ and ‘Spectre’, these vulnerabilities affect nearly all modern processors and can only be mitigated through operating system patches.

Of the two, ‘Meltdown’ poses the greatest threat because it is easier to exploit and affects all kinds of computers, including personal computers and virtual machines in the cloud. This exploit is already patched for some macOS releases which provides mitigation against the vulnerability.

Mobile devices such as iPhones and iPads are not affected for users who are running iOS 11.2. Apple TV devices running tvOS 11.2 are also protected.

Apple has confirmed the ‘Spectre’ vulnerabilities will be addressed for iOS, macOS, tvOS and watchOS in upcoming updates.

We are delighted to discuss any immediate concerns and recommend that we are engaged to look over security and patching. Contact RGB Solutions now.