AMD Confirms Processor Vulnerability, Mitigations Coming Soon
AMD has confirmed a vulnerability affecting its processor lineup, which was leaked ahead of an official patch. While the exact CPUs impacted remain unnamed, the issue appears to involve consumer Ryzen processors. The company has acknowledged the flaw, emphasizing that mitigations will be required, though details on the vulnerability itself are still sparse.
The vulnerability was first noted by Tavis Ormandy, a researcher from Google’s Project Zero, after discovering a reference to it in a beta BIOS update from Asus for its gaming motherboards. While Ormandy edited his post after releasing the information, the Register had already picked up on the report.
AMD confirmed that the vulnerability demands local administrative access to a system and requires specific malicious microcode to exploit. While the specifics of the bug remain undisclosed, AMD has reassured customers that mitigations are being worked on in partnership with motherboard manufacturers and other stakeholders.
In the meantime, AMD has urged consumers to continue following industry-standard security practices and ensure that they only install trusted code on their systems. A security bulletin will be issued soon, offering further guidance and mitigation options.
