This week a vulnerability in certain CPUs became public knowledge. In initial messages, only Intel CPUs seemed to be involved. Meanwhile it has been shown that AMD and ARMv7 are also vulnerable. AMD CPUs you will find in a lot of servers. ARMs can be found in phones and tablets.
As this is a problem in the hardware of many computers, almost all OSes will need an update. At LISA we working hard to realize that. Priority will be given to systems where there is the greatest chance of abuse. This includes the workstations and bastion hosts and terminal servers.
Microsoft Windows
The workstations will get an update this week.
The bastion hosts and terminal servers will get an update as soon as possible.
Other servers will get their update in the standard monthly round, which is scheduled for next week.
Linux servers
Red Hat Enterprise Linux and CentOS have released patches for all supported versions of their operating system. Nothing is known yet from other suppliers.
Apple macOS
There are unconfirmed reports that in version 10.13.2 a part of the patches have already been applied, and more patches will follow in 10.13.3.
Mobile phones
Because of the great diversity in used processors it is not clear which phones (or tablets) are vulnerable. If the supplier brings out a patch, install it as soon as possible.
According to reports, the update may cause a deterioration in the performance. This is not noticeable for workstations. For servers we will keep a close eye on the overall performance.
If you have any questions, please contact the ICT Service Desk or CERT-UT.
Please refer to the pages below for more (technical) information.