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14 Commits

Author SHA1 Message Date
github-actions[bot]
151dd12e3e fix: cap_rdcl_no, cap_gds_no, cap_tsa_*_no were not setting the current CPU status as immune for their respective vulns
built from commit 278989d550
 dated 2026-04-01 00:47:41 +0200
 by Stéphane Lesimple (speed47_github@speed47.net)
2026-03-31 22:48:56 +00:00
github-actions[bot]
15ea90f312 enh: draft rework of CVE-2017-5753 aka spectre v1
built from commit 4738e8f0ad
 dated 2026-04-01 00:22:07 +0200
 by Stéphane Lesimple (speed47_github@speed47.net)
2026-03-31 22:23:17 +00:00
github-actions[bot]
5fd6a20ebb chore: readme: add a second table one about impact/mitigation, rework sections
built from commit c20369d9e3899b03280bf72893956f36844bc969
 dated 2026-03-31 22:57:00 +0200
 by Stéphane Lesimple (speed47_github@speed47.net)
2026-03-31 22:09:49 +00:00
github-actions[bot]
e7df6a3e30 chore: readme: add a second table one about impact/mitigation
built from commit 4f16822bb11f5b8461647c228a7f2087d5716aea
 dated 2026-03-31 22:57:00 +0200
 by Stéphane Lesimple (speed47_github@speed47.net)
2026-03-31 22:05:17 +00:00
github-actions[bot]
ba24551c56 chore: readme: add a second table one about impact/mitigation
built from commit 25a7e7089a3c14f0b2d1320995b08d9d941d8c51
 dated 2026-03-31 22:57:00 +0200
 by Stéphane Lesimple (speed47_github@speed47.net)
2026-03-31 22:02:37 +00:00
github-actions[bot]
7c2699c01a chore: readme: add a second table one about impact/mitigation
built from commit 3e969c94e04e48f8db9dbb5603371e1180a4d32a
 dated 2026-03-31 22:57:00 +0200
 by Stéphane Lesimple (speed47_github@speed47.net)
2026-03-31 21:53:12 +00:00
github-actions[bot]
6663b6422e chore: readme: add a second table one about impact/mitigation
built from commit b74adb0957c471014dce284b2b6bf8cad85edf38
 dated 2026-03-31 22:57:00 +0200
 by Stéphane Lesimple (speed47_github@speed47.net)
2026-03-31 21:43:28 +00:00
github-actions[bot]
fe55c70658 chore: clearer CVE table in README.md
built from commit 9bbefb7bae40c7c240641b3f714691a76976c9c0
 dated 2026-03-31 22:57:00 +0200
 by Stéphane Lesimple (speed47_github@speed47.net)
2026-03-31 21:01:37 +00:00
github-actions[bot]
d0822e1f9d chore: prepare for dev-build renaming to test-build
built from commit 295324a545
 dated 2026-03-31 19:34:52 +0200
 by Stéphane Lesimple (speed47_github@speed47.net)
2026-03-31 17:53:45 +00:00
github-actions[bot]
10e5b5749e chore: set VERSION when building
built from commit efa07e7fd9
 dated 2026-03-30 23:46:13 +0200
 by Stéphane Lesimple (speed47_github@speed47.net)
2026-03-30 22:22:20 +00:00
github-actions[bot]
4f7f83a40e chore: set VERSION when building
built from commit 88099e12bf082112a1579e2cd37f010c29463e9d
 dated 2026-03-30 23:46:13 +0200
 by Stéphane Lesimple (speed47_github@speed47.net)
2026-03-30 21:51:45 +00:00
github-actions[bot]
4bbbd71564 update dev docs and refactor CVE list in readme
built from commit eabddf3d72
 dated 2026-03-30 23:24:18 +0200
 by Stéphane Lesimple (speed47_github@speed47.net)
2026-03-30 21:39:55 +00:00
github-actions[bot]
c174a8b754 update dev docs and readme
built from commit f66cb22a6d4779162909ea1ae1139c80942b1ce8
 dated 2026-03-30 23:24:18 +0200
 by Stéphane Lesimple (speed47_github@speed47.net)
2026-03-30 21:28:20 +00:00
github-actions[bot]
0f36203b5f chore: adjust workflow for dev-build
built from commit 254f8ece6de39214c5e25694b0fea8c2ddfbf511
 dated 2026-03-30 21:24:34 +0200
 by Stéphane Lesimple (speed47_github@speed47.net)
2026-03-30 21:08:41 +00:00
7 changed files with 688 additions and 3125 deletions

View File

@@ -5,9 +5,6 @@ on:
schedule:
- cron: '42 9 * * *'
permissions:
pull-requests: write
jobs:
autoupdate:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
@@ -28,6 +25,7 @@ jobs:
if: steps.diff.outputs.nbdiff != '0'
uses: peter-evans/create-pull-request@v7
with:
token: ${{ secrets.SMC_PR_PAT }}
branch: autoupdate-fwdb
commit-message: "update: fwdb from ${{ steps.diff.outputs.change }}, ${{ steps.diff.outputs.nbdiff }} microcode changes"
title: "[Auto] Update fwdb from ${{ steps.diff.outputs.change }}"

View File

@@ -1,114 +0,0 @@
name: build
on:
push:
branches:
- test
- source
jobs:
build:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v6
with:
persist-credentials: true
- name: install prerequisites
run: sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y shellcheck shfmt jq sqlite3 iucode-tool make
- name: update Intel model list
run: ./scripts/update_intel_models.sh
- name: build and check
run: |
make build fmt-check shellcheck
mv spectre-meltdown-checker.sh dist/
- name: check direct execution
run: |
expected=$(cat .github/workflows/expected_cve_count)
cd dist
nb=$(sudo ./spectre-meltdown-checker.sh --batch json | jq '.[]|.CVE' | wc -l)
if [ "$nb" -ne "$expected" ]; then
echo "Invalid number of CVEs reported: $nb instead of $expected"
exit 1
else
echo "OK $nb CVEs reported"
fi
- name: check docker compose run execution
run: |
expected=$(cat .github/workflows/expected_cve_count)
cd dist
docker compose build
nb=$(docker compose run --rm spectre-meltdown-checker --batch json | jq '.[]|.CVE' | wc -l)
if [ "$nb" -ne "$expected" ]; then
echo "Invalid number of CVEs reported: $nb instead of $expected"
exit 1
else
echo "OK $nb CVEs reported"
fi
- name: check docker run execution
run: |
expected=$(cat .github/workflows/expected_cve_count)
cd dist
docker build -t spectre-meltdown-checker .
nb=$(docker run --rm --privileged -v /boot:/boot:ro -v /dev/cpu:/dev/cpu:ro -v /lib/modules:/lib/modules:ro spectre-meltdown-checker --batch json | jq '.[]|.CVE' | wc -l)
if [ "$nb" -ne "$expected" ]; then
echo "Invalid number of CVEs reported: $nb instead of $expected"
exit 1
else
echo "OK $nb CVEs reported"
fi
- name: check fwdb update (separated)
run: |
cd dist
nbtmp1=$(find /tmp 2>/dev/null | wc -l)
./spectre-meltdown-checker.sh --update-fwdb; ret=$?
if [ "$ret" != 0 ]; then
echo "Non-zero return value: $ret"
exit 1
fi
nbtmp2=$(find /tmp 2>/dev/null | wc -l)
if [ "$nbtmp1" != "$nbtmp2" ]; then
echo "Left temporary files!"
exit 1
fi
if ! [ -e ~/.mcedb ]; then
echo "No .mcedb file found after updating fwdb"
exit 1
fi
- name: check fwdb update (builtin)
run: |
cd dist
nbtmp1=$(find /tmp 2>/dev/null | wc -l)
./spectre-meltdown-checker.sh --update-builtin-fwdb; ret=$?
if [ "$ret" != 0 ]; then
echo "Non-zero return value: $ret"
exit 1
fi
nbtmp2=$(find /tmp 2>/dev/null | wc -l)
if [ "$nbtmp1" != "$nbtmp2" ]; then
echo "Left temporary files!"
exit 1
fi
- name: create a pull request to ${{ github.ref_name }}-build
run: |
tmpdir=$(mktemp -d)
mv ./dist/* .github $tmpdir/
rm -rf ./dist
git fetch origin ${{ github.ref_name }}-build
git checkout -f ${{ github.ref_name }}-build
mv $tmpdir/* .
rm -rf src/
mkdir -p .github
rsync -vaP --delete $tmpdir/.github/ .github/
git add --all
echo =#=#= DIFF CACHED
git diff --cached
echo =#=#= STATUS
git status
echo =#=#= COMMIT
git config --global user.name "github-actions[bot]"
git config --global user.email "41898282+github-actions[bot]@users.noreply.github.com"
git log ${{ github.ref }} -1 --format=format:'%s%n%n built from commit %H%n dated %ai%n by %an (%ae)%n%n %b'
git log ${{ github.ref }} -1 --format=format:'%s%n%n built from commit %H%n dated %ai%n by %an (%ae)%n%n %b' | git commit -F -
git push

73
.github/workflows/check.yml vendored Normal file
View File

@@ -0,0 +1,73 @@
name: CI
on: [push, pull_request]
jobs:
build:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/checkout@v1
- name: install prerequisites
run: sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get install -y shellcheck jq sqlite3 iucode-tool
- name: shellcheck
run: shellcheck -s sh spectre-meltdown-checker.sh
- name: check indentation
run: |
if [ $(grep -cPv "^\t*\S|^$" spectre-meltdown-checker.sh) != 0 ]; then
echo "Badly indented lines found:"
grep -nPv "^\t*\S|^$" spectre-meltdown-checker.sh
exit 1
else
echo "Indentation seems correct."
fi
- name: check direct execution
run: |
expected=19
nb=$(sudo ./spectre-meltdown-checker.sh --batch json | jq '.[]|.CVE' | wc -l)
if [ "$nb" -ne "$expected" ]; then
echo "Invalid number of CVEs reported: $nb instead of $expected"
exit 1
else
echo "OK $nb CVEs reported"
fi
- name: check docker compose run execution
run: |
expected=19
docker compose build
nb=$(docker compose run --rm spectre-meltdown-checker --batch json | jq '.[]|.CVE' | wc -l)
if [ "$nb" -ne "$expected" ]; then
echo "Invalid number of CVEs reported: $nb instead of $expected"
exit 1
else
echo "OK $nb CVEs reported"
fi
- name: check docker run execution
run: |
expected=19
docker build -t spectre-meltdown-checker .
nb=$(docker run --rm --privileged -v /boot:/boot:ro -v /dev/cpu:/dev/cpu:ro -v /lib/modules:/lib/modules:ro spectre-meltdown-checker --batch json | jq '.[]|.CVE' | wc -l)
if [ "$nb" -ne "$expected" ]; then
echo "Invalid number of CVEs reported: $nb instead of $expected"
exit 1
else
echo "OK $nb CVEs reported"
fi
- name: check fwdb update
run: |
nbtmp1=$(find /tmp 2>/dev/null | wc -l)
./spectre-meltdown-checker.sh --update-fwdb; ret=$?
if [ "$ret" != 0 ]; then
echo "Non-zero return value: $ret"
exit 1
fi
nbtmp2=$(find /tmp 2>/dev/null | wc -l)
if [ "$nbtmp1" != "$nbtmp2" ]; then
echo "Left temporary files!"
exit 1
fi
if ! [ -e ~/.mcedb ]; then
echo "No .mcedb file found after updating fwdb"
exit 1
fi

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@@ -1 +0,0 @@
26

View File

@@ -1,33 +0,0 @@
name: 'Manage stale issues and PRs'
on:
schedule:
- cron: '37 7 * * *'
workflow_dispatch:
inputs:
action:
description: "dry-run"
required: true
default: "dryrun"
type: choice
options:
- dryrun
- apply
permissions:
issues: write
pull-requests: write
jobs:
stale:
runs-on: ubuntu-latest
steps:
- uses: actions/stale@v10
with:
any-of-labels: 'needs-more-info,answered'
labels-to-remove-when-unstale: 'needs-more-info,answered'
days-before-stale: 30
days-before-close: 7
stale-issue-label: stale
remove-stale-when-updated: true
debug-only: ${{ case(inputs.action == 'dryrun', true, false) }}

View File

@@ -16,23 +16,18 @@ CVE | Name | Aliases
[CVE-2018-3620](https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2018-3620) | L1 Terminal Fault | Foreshadow-NG (OS/SMM)
[CVE-2018-3646](https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2018-3646) | L1 Terminal Fault | Foreshadow-NG (VMM)
[CVE-2018-12126](https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2018-12126) | Microarchitectural Store Buffer Data Sampling | MSBDS, Fallout
[CVE-2018-12127](https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2018-12127) | Microarchitectural Load Port Data Sampling | MLPDS, RIDL
[CVE-2018-12130](https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2018-12130) | Microarchitectural Fill Buffer Data Sampling | MFBDS, ZombieLoad
[CVE-2018-12207](https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2018-12207) | Machine Check Exception on Page Size Changes | iTLB Multihit, No eXcuses
[CVE-2018-12127](https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2018-12127) | Microarchitectural Load Port Data Sampling | MLPDS, RIDL
[CVE-2019-11091](https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2019-11091) | Microarchitectural Data Sampling Uncacheable Memory | MDSUM, RIDL
[CVE-2019-11135](https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2019-11135) | TSX Asynchronous Abort | TAA, ZombieLoad V2
[CVE-2018-12207](https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2018-12207) | Machine Check Exception on Page Size Changes | iTLB Multihit, No eXcuses
[CVE-2020-0543](https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2020-0543) | Special Register Buffer Data Sampling | SRBDS, CROSSTalk
[CVE-2022-29900](https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2022-29900) | Arbitrary Speculative Code Execution with Return Instructions | Retbleed (AMD)
[CVE-2022-29901](https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2022-29901) | Arbitrary Speculative Code Execution with Return Instructions | Retbleed (Intel), RSBA
[CVE-2022-40982](https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2022-40982) | Gather Data Sampling | Downfall, GDS
[CVE-2023-20569](https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2023-20569) | Return Address Security | Inception, SRSO
[CVE-2023-20593](https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2023-20593) | Cross-Process Information Leak | Zenbleed
[CVE-2023-23583](https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2023-23583) | Redundant Prefix Issue | Reptar
[CVE-2024-28956](https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2024-28956) | Indirect Target Selection | ITS
[CVE-2024-36350](https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2024-36350) | Transient Scheduler Attack, Store Queue | TSA-SQ
[CVE-2024-36357](https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2024-36357) | Transient Scheduler Attack, L1 | TSA-L1
[CVE-2025-40300](https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2025-40300) | VM-Exit Stale Branch Prediction | VMScape
[CVE-2024-45332](https://cve.mitre.org/cgi-bin/cvename.cgi?name=CVE-2024-45332) | Branch Privilege Injection | BPI
## Am I at risk?
@@ -50,23 +45,18 @@ CVE-2018-3615 (Foreshadow, SGX) | ✅ (3) | ✅ (3) | ✅ (3) | ✅ (3) | Microc
CVE-2018-3620 (Foreshadow-NG, OS/SMM) | 💥 | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | Kernel update
CVE-2018-3646 (Foreshadow-NG, VMM) | ✅ | ✅ | 💥 | 💥 | Kernel update (or disable EPT/SMT)
CVE-2018-12126 (MSBDS, Fallout) | 💥 | 💥 (1) | 💥 | 💥 (1) | Microcode + kernel update
CVE-2018-12127 (MLPDS, RIDL) | 💥 | 💥 (1) | 💥 | 💥 (1) | Microcode + kernel update
CVE-2018-12130 (MFBDS, ZombieLoad) | 💥 | 💥 (1) | 💥 | 💥 (1) | Microcode + kernel update
CVE-2018-12207 (iTLB Multihit, No eXcuses) | | | ☠️ | ✅ | Hypervisor update (or disable hugepages)
CVE-2018-12127 (MLPDS, RIDL) | 💥 | 💥 (1) | 💥 | 💥 (1) | Microcode + kernel update
CVE-2019-11091 (MDSUM, RIDL) | 💥 | 💥 (1) | 💥 | 💥 (1) | Microcode + kernel update
CVE-2019-11135 (TAA, ZombieLoad V2) | 💥 | 💥 (1) | 💥 | 💥 (1) | Microcode + kernel update
CVE-2018-12207 (iTLB Multihit, No eXcuses) | ✅ | ✅ | ☠️ | ✅ | Hypervisor update (or disable hugepages)
CVE-2020-0543 (SRBDS, CROSSTalk) | 💥 (2) | 💥 (2) | 💥 (2) | 💥 (2) | Microcode + kernel update
CVE-2022-29900 (Retbleed AMD) | 💥 | ✅ | 💥 | ✅ | Kernel update (+ microcode for IBPB)
CVE-2022-29901 (Retbleed Intel, RSBA) | 💥 | ✅ | 💥 | ✅ | Microcode + kernel update (eIBRS or IBRS)
CVE-2022-40982 (Downfall, GDS) | 💥 | 💥 | 💥 | 💥 | Microcode update (or disable AVX)
CVE-2023-20569 (Inception, SRSO) | 💥 | ✅ | 💥 | ✅ | Microcode + kernel update
CVE-2023-20593 (Zenbleed) | 💥 | 💥 | 💥 | 💥 | Microcode update (or kernel workaround)
CVE-2023-23583 (Reptar) | ☠️ | ☠️ | ☠️ | ☠️ | Microcode update
CVE-2024-28956 (ITS) | 💥 | ✅ | 💥 (4) | ✅ | Microcode + kernel update
CVE-2024-36350 (TSA-SQ) | 💥 | 💥 (1) | 💥 | 💥 (1) | Microcode + kernel update
CVE-2024-36357 (TSA-L1) | 💥 | 💥 (1) | 💥 | 💥 (1) | Microcode + kernel update
CVE-2025-40300 (VMScape) | ✅ | ✅ | 💥 | ✅ | Kernel update (IBPB on VM-exit)
CVE-2024-45332 (BPI) | 💥 | ✅ | 💥 | ✅ | Microcode update
> 💥 Data can be leaked across this boundary.
@@ -80,8 +70,6 @@ CVE-2024-45332 (BPI) | 💥 | ✅ | 💥 | ✅ | Microcode update
> (3) CVE-2018-3615 (Foreshadow SGX) inverts the normal trust model: the OS reads SGX enclave data. It is irrelevant unless the system runs SGX enclaves, and the attacker must already have OS-level access.
> (4) VM→Host leakage applies only to certain affected CPU models (Skylake-X, Kaby Lake, Comet Lake). Ice Lake, Tiger Lake, and Rocket Lake are only affected for native (user-to-kernel) attacks, not guest-to-host.
## Detailed CVE descriptions
<details>
@@ -121,34 +109,26 @@ A guest VM can exploit L1TF to read memory belonging to the host or other guests
**CVE-2018-12126 — Microarchitectural Store Buffer Data Sampling (MSBDS, Fallout)**
**CVE-2018-12127 — Microarchitectural Load Port Data Sampling (MLPDS, RIDL)**
**CVE-2018-12130 — Microarchitectural Fill Buffer Data Sampling (MFBDS, ZombieLoad)**
**CVE-2018-12127 — Microarchitectural Load Port Data Sampling (MLPDS, RIDL)**
**CVE-2019-11091 — Microarchitectural Data Sampling Uncacheable Memory (MDSUM, RIDL)**
These four CVEs are collectively known as "MDS" (Microarchitectural Data Sampling) vulnerabilities. They exploit different CPU internal buffers — store buffer, fill buffer, load ports, and uncacheable memory paths — that can leak recently accessed data across privilege boundaries during speculative execution. An unprivileged attacker can observe data recently processed by the kernel or other processes. Mitigation requires a microcode update (providing the MD_CLEAR mechanism) plus a kernel update that uses VERW to clear affected buffers on privilege transitions. Disabling Hyper-Threading (SMT) provides additional protection because sibling threads share these buffers. The performance impact is low to significant, depending on the frequency of kernel transitions and whether SMT is disabled.
**CVE-2018-12207 — Machine Check Exception on Page Size Changes (iTLB Multihit, No eXcuses)**
A malicious guest VM can trigger a machine check exception (MCE) — crashing the entire host — by creating specific conditions in the instruction TLB involving page size changes. This is a denial-of-service vulnerability affecting hypervisors running untrusted guests. Mitigation requires either disabling hugepage use in the hypervisor or updating the hypervisor to avoid the problematic iTLB configurations. The performance impact ranges from low to significant depending on the approach: disabling hugepages can substantially impact memory-intensive workloads.
**CVE-2019-11135 — TSX Asynchronous Abort (TAA, ZombieLoad V2)**
On CPUs with Intel TSX, a transactional abort can leave data from the line fill buffers in a state observable through side channels, similar to the MDS vulnerabilities but triggered through TSX. Mitigation requires a microcode update plus kernel support to either clear affected buffers or disable TSX entirely (via the TSX_CTRL MSR). The performance impact is low to significant, similar to MDS, with the option to eliminate the attack surface entirely by disabling TSX at the cost of losing transactional memory support.
**CVE-2018-12207 — Machine Check Exception on Page Size Changes (iTLB Multihit, No eXcuses)**
A malicious guest VM can trigger a machine check exception (MCE) — crashing the entire host — by creating specific conditions in the instruction TLB involving page size changes. This is a denial-of-service vulnerability affecting hypervisors running untrusted guests. Mitigation requires either disabling hugepage use in the hypervisor or updating the hypervisor to avoid the problematic iTLB configurations. The performance impact ranges from low to significant depending on the approach: disabling hugepages can substantially impact memory-intensive workloads.
**CVE-2020-0543 — Special Register Buffer Data Sampling (SRBDS, CROSSTalk)**
Certain special CPU instructions (RDRAND, RDSEED, EGETKEY) read data through a shared staging buffer that is accessible across all cores via speculative execution. An attacker running code on any core can observe the output of these instructions from a victim on a different core, including extracting cryptographic keys from SGX enclaves (a complete ECDSA key was demonstrated). This is notable as one of the first cross-core speculative execution attacks. Mitigation requires a microcode update that serializes access to the staging buffer, plus a kernel update to manage the mitigation. Performance impact is low, mainly affecting workloads that heavily use RDRAND/RDSEED.
**CVE-2022-29900 — Arbitrary Speculative Code Execution with Return Instructions (Retbleed AMD)**
On AMD processors from families 0x15 through 0x17 (Bulldozer through Zen 2) and Hygon family 0x18, an attacker can exploit return instructions to redirect speculative execution and leak kernel memory, bypassing retpoline mitigations that were effective against Spectre V2. Unlike Spectre V2 which targets indirect jumps and calls, Retbleed specifically targets return instructions, which were previously considered safe. Mitigation requires a kernel update providing either the untrained return thunk (safe RET) or IBPB-on-entry mechanism, plus a microcode update providing IBPB support on Zen 1/2. On Zen 1/2, SMT should be disabled for full protection when using IBPB-based mitigation. Performance impact is medium.
**CVE-2022-29901 — Arbitrary Speculative Code Execution with Return Instructions (Retbleed Intel, RSBA)**
On Intel Skylake through Rocket Lake processors with RSB Alternate Behavior (RSBA), return instructions can be speculatively redirected via the Branch Target Buffer when the Return Stack Buffer underflows, bypassing retpoline mitigations. Mitigation requires either Enhanced IBRS (eIBRS, via microcode update) or a kernel compiled with IBRS-on-entry support (Linux 5.19+). Call depth tracking (stuffing) is an alternative mitigation available from Linux 6.2+. Plain retpoline does NOT mitigate this vulnerability on RSBA-capable CPUs. Performance impact is medium to high.
**CVE-2022-40982 — Gather Data Sampling (GDS, Downfall)**
The AVX GATHER instructions can leak data from previously used vector registers across privilege boundaries through the shared gather data buffer. This affects any software using AVX2 or AVX-512 on vulnerable Intel processors. Mitigation is provided by a microcode update that clears the gather buffer, or alternatively by disabling the AVX feature entirely. Performance impact is negligible for most workloads but can be significant (up to 50%) for AVX-heavy applications such as HPC and AI inference.
@@ -165,10 +145,6 @@ A bug in AMD Zen 2 processors causes the VZEROUPPER instruction to incorrectly z
A bug in Intel processors causes unexpected behavior when executing instructions with specific redundant REX prefixes. Depending on the circumstances, this can result in a system crash (MCE), unpredictable behavior, or potentially privilege escalation. Any software running on an affected CPU can trigger the bug. Mitigation requires a microcode update. Performance impact is low.
**CVE-2024-28956 — Indirect Target Selection (ITS)**
On certain Intel processors (Skylake-X stepping 6+, Kaby Lake, Comet Lake, Ice Lake, Tiger Lake, Rocket Lake), an attacker can train the indirect branch predictor to speculatively execute a targeted gadget in the kernel, bypassing eIBRS protections. The Branch Target Buffer (BTB) uses only partial address bits to index indirect branch targets, allowing user-space code to influence kernel-space speculative execution. Some affected CPUs (Ice Lake, Tiger Lake, Rocket Lake) are only vulnerable to native user-to-kernel attacks, not guest-to-host (VMX) attacks. Mitigation requires both a microcode update (IPU 2025.1 / microcode-20250512+, which fixes IBPB to fully flush indirect branch predictions) and a kernel update (CONFIG_MITIGATION_ITS, Linux 6.15+) that aligns branch/return thunks or uses RSB stuffing. Performance impact is low.
**CVE-2024-36350 — Transient Scheduler Attack, Store Queue (TSA-SQ)**
On AMD Zen 3 and Zen 4 processors, the CPU's transient scheduler may speculatively retrieve stale data from the store queue during certain timing windows, allowing an attacker to infer data from previous store operations across privilege boundaries. The attack can also leak data between SMT sibling threads. Mitigation requires both a microcode update (exposing the VERW_CLEAR capability) and a kernel update (CONFIG_MITIGATION_TSA, Linux 6.16+) that uses the VERW instruction to clear CPU buffers on user/kernel transitions and before VMRUN. The kernel also clears buffers on idle when SMT is active. Performance impact is low to medium.
@@ -177,23 +153,8 @@ On AMD Zen 3 and Zen 4 processors, the CPU's transient scheduler may speculative
On AMD Zen 3 and Zen 4 processors, the CPU's transient scheduler may speculatively retrieve stale data from the L1 data cache during certain timing windows, allowing an attacker to infer data in the L1D cache across privilege boundaries. Mitigation requires the same microcode and kernel updates as TSA-SQ: a microcode update exposing VERW_CLEAR and a kernel update (CONFIG_MITIGATION_TSA, Linux 6.16+) that clears CPU buffers via VERW on privilege transitions. Performance impact is low to medium.
**CVE-2025-40300 — VM-Exit Stale Branch Prediction (VMScape)**
After a guest VM exits to the host, stale branch predictions from the guest can influence host-side speculative execution before the kernel returns to userspace, allowing a local attacker to leak host kernel memory. This affects Intel processors from Sandy Bridge through Arrow Lake/Lunar Lake, AMD Zen 1 through Zen 5 families, and Hygon family 0x18. Only systems running a hypervisor with untrusted guests are at risk. Mitigation requires a kernel update (CONFIG_MITIGATION_VMSCAPE, Linux 6.18+) that issues IBPB before returning to userspace after a VM exit. No specific microcode update is required beyond existing IBPB support. Performance impact is low.
**CVE-2024-45332 — Branch Privilege Injection (BPI)**
A race condition in the branch predictor update mechanism of Intel processors (Coffee Lake through Raptor Lake, plus some server and Atom parts) allows user-space branch predictions to briefly influence kernel-space speculative execution, undermining eIBRS and IBPB protections. This means systems relying solely on eIBRS for Spectre V2 mitigation may not be fully protected without the microcode fix. Mitigation requires a microcode update (intel-microcode 20250512+) that fixes the asynchronous branch predictor update timing so that eIBRS and IBPB work as originally intended. No kernel changes are required. Performance impact is negligible.
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## Unsupported CVEs
Several transient execution CVEs are not covered by this tool, for various reasons (duplicates, only
affecting non-supported hardware or OS, theoretical with no known exploitation, etc.).
The complete list along with the reason for each exclusion is available in the
[UNSUPPORTED_CVE_LIST.md](https://github.com/speed47/spectre-meltdown-checker/blob/source/UNSUPPORTED_CVE_LIST.md) file.
## Scope
Supported operating systems:

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