So for those systems would it matter?

Contents:
Does that matter though?
so for those systems would it matter?

bastianb0t 2022-09-21 05:53:25

https://www.theregister.com/2018/01/22/intel_spectre_fix_linux/

‘WHAT THE F*CK IS GOING ON?’ Linus Torvalds explodes at Intel spinning Spectre fix as a security feature – The Register
Patches slammed as ‘complete and utter garbage’ as Chipzilla U-turns on microcode

lordwilliamwolf 2022-09-21 05:53:36

ChrisCromer 2022-09-21 05:51:59

Nope, the fixes are through microcode.

oh ok. im asking because i saw some stuff about this, what you’re saying, being discussed in the Libreboot bios community.

lordwilliamwolf 2022-09-21 05:53:48

bastianb0t 2022-09-21 05:53:25

https://www.theregister.com/2018/01/22/intel_spectre_fix_linux/

linus angy

lordwilliamwolf 2022-09-21 05:54:16

thanks for sharing

ChrisCromer 2022-09-21 05:54:59

lordwilliamwolf 2022-09-21 05:53:36

oh ok. im asking because i saw some stuff about this, what you’re saying, being discussed in the Libreboot bios community.

Nobody can fix it except for intel/amd, which is why it’s microcode and not bios.

ChrisCromer 2022-09-21 05:55:23

It’s not a motherboard hole, it’s a CPU vulnerability.

lordwilliamwolf 2022-09-21 05:56:44

ChrisCromer 2022-09-21 05:54:59

Nobody can fix it except for intel/amd, which is why it’s microcode and not bios.

I understand but afaik there are some things that can be fixed through the BIOS.
I was following this fork of Libreboot, called OSBoot, which was made by the original creator of Libreboot, and she was talking about how she just takes Libreboot and adds some microcode updates for security purposes

lordwilliamwolf 2022-09-21 05:57:05

idk if it was specifically spectre/meltdown tho

lordwilliamwolf 2022-09-21 05:57:47

https://osboot.org/
highly recommend to check out the project. it’s a middle ground between libreboot and coreboot i think. I have an OS Boot laptop and i ran Artix on it

osboot – osboot project

lordwilliamwolf 2022-09-21 05:58:33

CPU microcode updates do not hurt your freedom, because your CPU already has older, buggier microcode in mask ROM anyway. You should choose osboot, not Libreboot, even on Libreboot-compatible hardware, because the microcode updates improve system stability and reliability. Out of principle, osboot will always enable microcode updates. Libreboot is inferior to osboot, in every way, but it will continue to be developed and polished, alongside osboot development.

ChrisCromer 2022-09-21 05:59:07

lordwilliamwolf 2022-09-21 05:56:44

The microcode gets loaded by grub before loading initramfs… So it’s the same thing essentially.

lordwilliamwolf 2022-09-21 05:59:26

ChrisCromer 2022-09-21 05:59:07

The microcode gets loaded by grub before loading initramfs… So it’s the same thing essentially.

ahh okay, makes sense

ChrisCromer 2022-09-21 06:01:39

Microcode is always loaded before kernel and before initrmfs. osboot will load it 1 step before that, so no noticable difference.

lordwilliamwolf 2022-09-21 06:02:08

i guess the upside in this case is just that you have the microcode for any OS you use

lordwilliamwolf 2022-09-21 06:02:13

ChrisCromer 2022-09-21 06:01:39

Microcode is always loaded before kernel and before initrmfs. osboot will load it 1 step before that, so no noticable difference.

i gotcha

ChrisCromer 2022-09-21 06:02:57

lordwilliamwolf 2022-09-21 06:02:08

i guess the upside in this case is just that you have the microcode for any OS you use

The downside is that if your osboot isn’t kept up to date, you don’t get the new microcode.

ChrisCromer 2022-09-21 06:03:16

Unlike arch/artix where it is updated constantly.

lordwilliamwolf 2022-09-21 06:04:48

ChrisCromer 2022-09-21 06:02:57

The downside is that if your osboot isn’t kept up to date, you don’t get the new microcode.

Does that matter though? Osboot only works on a specific set of pre-2008/09 systems