LinuxQuestions.org
Review your favorite Linux distribution.
Home Forums Tutorials Articles Register
Go Back   LinuxQuestions.org > Forums > Linux Forums > Linux - Distributions > Slackware
User Name
Password
Slackware This Forum is for the discussion of Slackware Linux.

Notices


Reply
  Search this Thread
Old 01-18-2018, 03:22 AM   #1
drgibbon
Senior Member
 
Registered: Nov 2014
Distribution: Slackware64 15.0
Posts: 1,224

Rep: Reputation: 944Reputation: 944Reputation: 944Reputation: 944Reputation: 944Reputation: 944Reputation: 944Reputation: 944
Spectre/Meltdown mitigations in kernel 4.4.111


I've recently patched my 14.2_x64 system to kernel 4.4.111 and am also early loading the latest Intel microcode (on an i7-5820K using the SBo package). However, when I test using speed47's spectre-meltdown-checker, I still get a "VULNERABLE" status for Spectre variants 1 and 2:

Code:
CVE-2017-5753 [bounds check bypass] aka 'Spectre Variant 1'
* Checking count of LFENCE opcodes in kernel:  NO 
> STATUS:  VULNERABLE  (only 50 opcodes found, should be >= 70, heuristic to be improved when official patches become available)

CVE-2017-5715 [branch target injection] aka 'Spectre Variant 2'
* Mitigation 1
*   Hardware (CPU microcode) support for mitigation
*     The SPEC_CTRL MSR is available:  YES 
*     The SPEC_CTRL CPUID feature bit is set:  YES 
*   Kernel support for IBRS:  NO 
*   IBRS enabled for Kernel space:  NO 
*   IBRS enabled for User space:  NO 
* Mitigation 2
*   Kernel compiled with retpoline option:  NO 
*   Kernel compiled with a retpoline-aware compiler:  NO 
> STATUS:  VULNERABLE  (IBRS hardware + kernel support OR kernel with retpoline are needed to mitigate the vulnerability)

CVE-2017-5754 [rogue data cache load] aka 'Meltdown' aka 'Variant 3'
* Kernel supports Page Table Isolation (PTI):  YES 
* PTI enabled and active:  YES 
* Checking if we're running under Xen PV (64 bits):  NO 
> STATUS:  NOT VULNERABLE  (PTI mitigates the vulnerability)
The variant 1 test looks like it could be a false positive, but what about the variant 2 mitigations (which appear to be missing)?
 
Old 01-18-2018, 03:42 AM   #2
ponce
LQ Guru
 
Registered: Aug 2004
Location: Pisa, Italy
Distribution: Slackware
Posts: 7,140

Rep: Reputation: 4208Reputation: 4208Reputation: 4208Reputation: 4208Reputation: 4208Reputation: 4208Reputation: 4208Reputation: 4208Reputation: 4208Reputation: 4208Reputation: 4208
only some of the retpoline patches got in kernel 4.15.0-rcX and they have been backported to kernel series 4.14.x and 4.9.x but not to the 4.4.x one: BTW they are not resolutive as you can see here.
they are not false positives, it's just that there's no mitigation from Spectre attacks available yet.

Last edited by ponce; 01-18-2018 at 04:18 AM.
 
1 members found this post helpful.
Old 01-18-2018, 05:28 AM   #3
Lysander666
Senior Member
 
Registered: Apr 2017
Location: The Underearth
Distribution: Ubuntu, Debian, Slackware
Posts: 2,178
Blog Entries: 6

Rep: Reputation: 2470Reputation: 2470Reputation: 2470Reputation: 2470Reputation: 2470Reputation: 2470Reputation: 2470Reputation: 2470Reputation: 2470Reputation: 2470Reputation: 2470
We're quite a long way away from a full fix. I'm just holding on to 4.4.111 and will keep track of the progress. I'll update again when there's a major revision.
 
1 members found this post helpful.
Old 01-18-2018, 05:58 AM   #4
drgibbon
Senior Member
 
Registered: Nov 2014
Distribution: Slackware64 15.0
Posts: 1,224

Original Poster
Rep: Reputation: 944Reputation: 944Reputation: 944Reputation: 944Reputation: 944Reputation: 944Reputation: 944Reputation: 944
Wow, what a mess. I suppose there will be updates coming for a while then, so I'll mark this as solved.
 
1 members found this post helpful.
  


Reply



Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off



Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Vulnerabilities such as Meltdown and Spectre caseyl Linux - Security 7 01-22-2018 09:14 PM
Greg Kroah-Hartman on Meltdown, Spectre and the Linux kernel TL_CLD Slackware 31 01-17-2018 10:38 AM
Meltdown and Spectre ots3go Solaris / OpenSolaris 1 01-10-2018 04:15 AM
LXer: Spectre and Meltdown explained LXer Syndicated Linux News 0 01-08-2018 07:52 AM

LinuxQuestions.org > Forums > Linux Forums > Linux - Distributions > Slackware

All times are GMT -5. The time now is 09:25 AM.

Main Menu
Advertisement
My LQ
Write for LQ
LinuxQuestions.org is looking for people interested in writing Editorials, Articles, Reviews, and more. If you'd like to contribute content, let us know.
Main Menu
Syndicate
RSS1  Latest Threads
RSS1  LQ News
Twitter: @linuxquestions
Open Source Consulting | Domain Registration