| lists.openwall.net | lists / announce owl-users owl-dev john-users john-dev passwdqc-users yescrypt popa3d-users / oss-security kernel-hardening musl sabotage tlsify passwords / crypt-dev xvendor / Bugtraq Full-Disclosure linux-kernel linux-netdev linux-ext4 linux-hardening linux-cve-announce PHC | |
|
Open Source and information security mailing list archives
| ||
|
Date: Fri, 13 Mar 2009 09:44:02 +0100 From: Dragoslav Zaric <dragoslav.zaric.kd@...il.com> To: LKML <linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org> Subject: Linux* Processor Microcode Data File --------------------------------------------- I found this on web site http://kerneltrap.org Tigran Aivazian, author of the IA32 microcode driver and Microcode Update Utility for Linux explained: "The answer to your question is that some Intel CPUs (just like any other hardware or software) contain bugs and, fortunately, their architecture is flexible enough to provide a way to fix those bugs by means of loading the microcode update on the fly, i.e. while the OS is running with no need to reboot (in fact, rebooting or otherwise resetting the CPU causes the update to be lost and requires to run the update again)." --------------------------------------------- So when you reboot system, you reset CPU to original state, and after that you must apply microcode, and this is what is actually doing right now, you put microcode in folder /etc/firmware and after boot microcode is loaded. So I think for CPU hotplug it is also natural that microcode is loaded after plugging, because you can not use microcode from boot process. Maybe kernel should have database of tested microcodes, so when you plug CPU appropriate microcode is loaded. -- Thanks Dragoslav Zaric [Programmer ; M.Sc. in Astrophysics] -- To unsubscribe from this list: send the line "unsubscribe linux-kernel" in the body of a message to majordomo@...r.kernel.org More majordomo info at http://vger.kernel.org/majordomo-info.html Please read the FAQ at http://www.tux.org/lkml/
Powered by blists - more mailing lists