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    SubjectRe: Intel microcode fixes [OFF-TOPIC]
    On Fri, 20 Nov 1998, Tigran Aivazian wrote:

    > On Thu, 19 Nov 1998, John Fulmer wrote:
    >
    > >
    > > EGADS! Is there NO security on the processor microcode? Could this be
    > > exploited to do evil narsty things?
    > >
    > > In a serious note (microcode viruses aside), I don't think that I or many
    > > other people even knew that Intel's microcode was changeable. I wonder
    > > what the security implications could be?
    > >
    > > Does Linux protect the cpu at all in this instance?
    > Calm down. Imho, nobody (not even OS vendors) know or care what is in those
    > "microcode fixes". Intel gives everybody a binary "blob" and OS puts it
    > where needed. Of course, anyone can use it to his advantage, e.g. putting
    > the blobe only in OS release > X.Y and thus forcing customers to use that
    > release (or risk missing something very important in those "blobs") or say
    > "such and such OS has this blob and Linux does not, so...". The interesting
    > dilema is whether these blobs can go into the official kernel or not. Since
    > there would be no such thing as "source"; for the microcode itself *is* a
    > source so applying GPL to it is like multiplying a vector with identity matrix?
    >
    > Regards,
    > T.
    >

    The microcode update modules are usually installed by the BIOS during POST
    as the BIOS may need some of the microcode fixes to boot ...

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    | pdh@berserk.demon.co.uk |
    | http://www.colonel-panic.com |
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