- Jul 5, 2002
- 2,741
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Just saw this warning posted across other Tech sites. It says the issue isn't just limited to Linux:
[WARNING] Intel Skylake/Kaby Lake processors: broken hyper-threading
https://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2017/06/msg00308.html
"This warning advisory is relevant for users of systems with the Intel
processors code-named "Skylake" and "Kaby Lake". These are: the 6th and
7th generation Intel Core processors (desktop, embedded, mobile and
HEDT), their related server processors (such as Xeon v5 and Xeon v6), as
well as select Intel Pentium processor models.
TL;DR: unfixed Skylake and Kaby Lake processors could, in some
situations, dangerously misbehave when hyper-threading is enabled.
Disable hyper-threading immediately in BIOS/UEFI to work around the
problem. Read this advisory for instructions about an Intel-provided
fix.
SO, WHAT IS THIS ALL ABOUT?
---------------------------
This advisory is about a processor/microcode defect recently identified
on Intel Skylake and Intel Kaby Lake processors with hyper-threading
enabled. This defect can, when triggered, cause unpredictable system
behavior: it could cause spurious errors, such as application and system
misbehavior, data corruption, and data loss.
It was brought to the attention of the Debian project that this defect
is known to directly affect some Debian stable users (refer to the end
of this advisory for details), thus this advisory.
Please note that the defect can potentially affect any operating system
(it is not restricted to Debian, and it is not restricted to Linux-based
systems). It can be either avoided (by disabling hyper-threading), or
fixed (by updating the processor microcode).
Due to the difficult detection of potentially affected software, and the
unpredictable nature of the defect, all users of the affected Intel
processors are strongly urged to take action as recommended by this advisory."
So is this something that people with Skylake/Kabylake CPUs should really worry about? Seems like it isn't that huge of a deal if it took this long to discover.
[WARNING] Intel Skylake/Kaby Lake processors: broken hyper-threading
https://lists.debian.org/debian-devel/2017/06/msg00308.html
"This warning advisory is relevant for users of systems with the Intel
processors code-named "Skylake" and "Kaby Lake". These are: the 6th and
7th generation Intel Core processors (desktop, embedded, mobile and
HEDT), their related server processors (such as Xeon v5 and Xeon v6), as
well as select Intel Pentium processor models.
TL;DR: unfixed Skylake and Kaby Lake processors could, in some
situations, dangerously misbehave when hyper-threading is enabled.
Disable hyper-threading immediately in BIOS/UEFI to work around the
problem. Read this advisory for instructions about an Intel-provided
fix.
SO, WHAT IS THIS ALL ABOUT?
---------------------------
This advisory is about a processor/microcode defect recently identified
on Intel Skylake and Intel Kaby Lake processors with hyper-threading
enabled. This defect can, when triggered, cause unpredictable system
behavior: it could cause spurious errors, such as application and system
misbehavior, data corruption, and data loss.
It was brought to the attention of the Debian project that this defect
is known to directly affect some Debian stable users (refer to the end
of this advisory for details), thus this advisory.
Please note that the defect can potentially affect any operating system
(it is not restricted to Debian, and it is not restricted to Linux-based
systems). It can be either avoided (by disabling hyper-threading), or
fixed (by updating the processor microcode).
Due to the difficult detection of potentially affected software, and the
unpredictable nature of the defect, all users of the affected Intel
processors are strongly urged to take action as recommended by this advisory."
So is this something that people with Skylake/Kabylake CPUs should really worry about? Seems like it isn't that huge of a deal if it took this long to discover.