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TA18-004A: Meltdown and Spectre Side-Channel Vulnerability Guidance

[html]Original release date: January 04, 2018 | Last revised: January 18, 2018

      

Systems Affected

      

CPU hardware implementations

      
      

Overview

      

On January 3, 2018, the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC) became aware of a set of security vulnerabilities—known as Meltdown and Spectre— that affect modern computer processors. Exploitation of these vulnerabilities could allow an attacker to obtain access to sensitive information.

      
      

Description

      

CPU hardware implementations are vulnerable to side-channel attacks referred to as Meltdown and Spectre. Meltdown is a bug that "melts" the security boundaries normally enforced by the hardware. Meltdown affects desktops, laptops, and cloud computers.