Microsoft releases Windows 10 Spectre fixes for Haswell, Broadwell and Skylake CPUs
Microsoft releases Windows 10 Spectre fixes for Haswell, Broadwell and Skylake CPUs
In the wake of Spectre Microsoft has decided to release Sprectre mitigating Microcode updates using Windows/Microsoft Update, with their latest KB4091666 update adding updates for Skylake, Broadwell and Haswell series CPUs, protecting Intel CPUs that were released as far back as 2013.Â
Spectre mitigating updates have already been released for Intel’s newer Coffee Lake and Kaby Lake platforms through Windows, offering coverage from Haswell to Coffee Lake. Future Intel CPUs are expected to ship with mitigations in silicon, with further Windows updates providing fixes for Ivy Bridge and Sandy Bridge era systems.Â
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While BIOS-level changes are preferable, there is no getting around the fact that many of these older systems are out of warranty, and that motherboard manufacturers and OEMs have limited staff to dedicated to the task, making the update roll out slow for older systems. Microsoft’s updates are expected to service older systems, as motherboard manufacturers have long since stopped making BIOS updates for Sandy Bridge era systems, making OS-level microcode injection the only viable option for protection.Â
For the full list of CPUs covered by Windows 10’s Spectre KB4091666 can be found here, covering processors from Haswell ULT to Skylake-X.
You can join the discussion on Microsoft’s Windows 10 Spectre Mitigations for Haswell, Broadwell and Skylake on the OC3D Forums.Â