4 ms·

It feels like not-a-coincidence that OpenBSD added AMD microcode loading in the last 3 days. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36838511 https://news.ycombin

It feels like not-a-coincidence that OpenBSD added AMD microcode loading in the last 3 days. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36838511 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36838511

hammock 3y ago
Explain that like I’m 5?
- laverya 3y ago
  The patch for this exploit is to load AMD's updated microcode.
  - dumdumchan 3y ago
    Is apt update && apt upgrade enough for pop-os users?
    - CameronNemo 3y ago
      Probably eventually yes, but if you are really concerned you need to discuss it with your distro maintainers.
      - gabereiser 3y ago
        This. Not everyone is as quick as say Arch or Fedora in updating/patching. Please reach out to your maintainers of the distro you use.
        deleted 3y ago
        [deleted]
        vladvasiliu 3y ago
        Even Arch seems out of date as of 24 jul 2023 17:55 UTC. The latest amd firmware version is 20230625.
        LtdJorge 3y ago
        Gentoo already has it, however the latest ebuild is still masked, so one would need to put "sys-kernel/linux-firmware ~amd64" inside a file in /etc/portage/package.accept_keywords, or better yet, always run the git version, using * instead of ~amd64. Apart from that, it's necessary to "sudo emaint sync -A && sudo emerge -av sys-kernel/linux-firmware", while checking that the correct files are included in the savedconfig file if using it. After that, rebuild the kernel or the initramfs and reboot.
        deleted 3y ago
        [deleted]
        srcreigh 3y ago
        The 6.4.6 kernel has mitigations, but the arch “linux” package is still at 6.4.5.
    - kzrdude 3y ago
      I think you'll need to reboot for the microcode to be updated
  - jahsome 3y ago
    I'm not sure five year olds know what microcode is. I'm 35, been in tech nearly 20 years and don't recall having heard that specific term before today.
    - enedil 3y ago
      But well educated five year olds from good schools would know it.
    - eindiran 3y ago
      The whole "explain like I'm 5" thing is ridiculous. A huge percentage of topics simply cannot be broken down to an average 5 year old in a way that makes the conversation worth having at all. The 5 year old has no context about why in recent years there has been a huge push towards running your own code on other people's computers using various isolation techniques, or why people are trying to exploit that. The 5 year old has no context for what the exploits actually are, or how to mitigate them. Even if you break all of those things down into 5 year old bitesized chunks, you end up with boring word soup completely disconnected from the meaningful parts of the conversation. Really what ELI5 is, is a technique to allow the asker to not have to look anything up. From the parent comment, you can look up "patch", "AMD", "microcode"; or you can demand "ELI5!" and have someone else type up long, careful definitions that don't reference context or words that a 5 year old doesn't know. Regarding what microcode is, here is a good explanation of the differences between microcode and firmware: https://superuser.com/questions/1283788/what-exactly-is-microcode-and-how-does-it-differ-from-firmware https://superuser.com/questions/1283788/what-exactly-is-micr...
      - byvirtueof 3y ago
        I agree that many topics are hard to explain to a five year old, but ELI5 can be very helpful in forcing people to simplify their writing. Many people explain things in an unnecessarily complex way, and ELI5 at least makes them think about the target audience.
      - jahsome 3y ago
        Sure, I can look it up (and I did) but this is a discussion section, so why not prompt a discussion by asking for a simple explanation? Appreciate the link! I'm not OP but that's exactly what I was looking for.
dralley 3y ago
This may or may not also be relevant (I actually have no idea): https://www.phoronix.com/news/Fedora-Server-Alert-FW-Updates https://www.phoronix.com/news/Fedora-Server-Alert-FW-Updates

It feels like not-a-coincidence that OpenBSD added AMD microcode loading in the last 3 days. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36838511 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36838511

hammock 3y ago

Explain that like I’m 5?

laverya 3y ago
The patch for this exploit is to load AMD's updated microcode.
- dumdumchan 3y ago
  Is apt update && apt upgrade enough for pop-os users?
  - CameronNemo 3y ago
    Probably eventually yes, but if you are really concerned you need to discuss it with your distro maintainers.
    - gabereiser 3y ago
      This. Not everyone is as quick as say Arch or Fedora in updating/patching. Please reach out to your maintainers of the distro you use.
      - deleted 3y ago
        [deleted]
      - vladvasiliu 3y ago
        Even Arch seems out of date as of 24 jul 2023 17:55 UTC. The latest amd firmware version is 20230625.
        LtdJorge 3y ago
        Gentoo already has it, however the latest ebuild is still masked, so one would need to put "sys-kernel/linux-firmware ~amd64" inside a file in /etc/portage/package.accept_keywords, or better yet, always run the git version, using * instead of ~amd64. Apart from that, it's necessary to "sudo emaint sync -A && sudo emerge -av sys-kernel/linux-firmware", while checking that the correct files are included in the savedconfig file if using it. After that, rebuild the kernel or the initramfs and reboot.
        deleted 3y ago
        [deleted]
        srcreigh 3y ago
        The 6.4.6 kernel has mitigations, but the arch “linux” package is still at 6.4.5.
  - kzrdude 3y ago
    I think you'll need to reboot for the microcode to be updated
- jahsome 3y ago
  I'm not sure five year olds know what microcode is. I'm 35, been in tech nearly 20 years and don't recall having heard that specific term before today.
  - enedil 3y ago
    But well educated five year olds from good schools would know it.
  - eindiran 3y ago
    The whole "explain like I'm 5" thing is ridiculous. A huge percentage of topics simply cannot be broken down to an average 5 year old in a way that makes the conversation worth having at all. The 5 year old has no context about why in recent years there has been a huge push towards running your own code on other people's computers using various isolation techniques, or why people are trying to exploit that. The 5 year old has no context for what the exploits actually are, or how to mitigate them. Even if you break all of those things down into 5 year old bitesized chunks, you end up with boring word soup completely disconnected from the meaningful parts of the conversation. Really what ELI5 is, is a technique to allow the asker to not have to look anything up. From the parent comment, you can look up "patch", "AMD", "microcode"; or you can demand "ELI5!" and have someone else type up long, careful definitions that don't reference context or words that a 5 year old doesn't know. Regarding what microcode is, here is a good explanation of the differences between microcode and firmware: https://superuser.com/questions/1283788/what-exactly-is-microcode-and-how-does-it-differ-from-firmware https://superuser.com/questions/1283788/what-exactly-is-micr...
    - byvirtueof 3y ago
      I agree that many topics are hard to explain to a five year old, but ELI5 can be very helpful in forcing people to simplify their writing. Many people explain things in an unnecessarily complex way, and ELI5 at least makes them think about the target audience.
    - jahsome 3y ago
      Sure, I can look it up (and I did) but this is a discussion section, so why not prompt a discussion by asking for a simple explanation? Appreciate the link! I'm not OP but that's exactly what I was looking for.

dralley 3y ago

This may or may not also be relevant (I actually have no idea): https://www.phoronix.com/news/Fedora-Server-Alert-FW-Updates https://www.phoronix.com/news/Fedora-Server-Alert-FW-Updates