I don't know why you're being downvoted; it's crucial that Intel patches this deficiency for all CPU models which are currently in use, which is pretty much all

I don't know why you're being downvoted; it's crucial that Intel patches this deficiency for all CPU models which are currently in use, which is pretty much all of them, since some systems work nearly forever. We're talking about going back 15 years or so? I mean this is like the Y2K bug, in that every system needs to have its CPU verified to ensure that it's covered by the patches, otherwise the system should be shut down and a new CPU provided. Since many of these CPUs have sockets for which CPUs are not produced anymore, whole new systems will have to be purchased. Of course this might the result Intel wants to achieve.