[Slackbuilds-users] intel-microcode

[David Spencer]

> I see the rush in updating Intel microcode all over the place.
> Yet, I can only find version 20171117 on Intel site.
>
> Has anyone any idea what is happening?

Some distros seem to have mysteriously got a 20171215 release, it must
have come from Intel but it is not available from Intel's page. Maybe
a bit more information is below, from the Debian bugreport.

Gentoo:
https://gitweb.gentoo.org/repo/gentoo.git/log/sys-firmware/intel-microcode

Mageia:
http://svnweb.mageia.org/packages/cauldron/microcode/

Debian:
https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=886367
https://sources.debian.org/src/intel-microcode/3.20171215.1/supplementary-ucode-CVE-2017-5715.d/

In particular see https://bugs.debian.org/cgi-bin/bugreport.cgi?bug=886367#37
"The current plans are for stable to wait for Intel's official microcode
update pack. It is not like this set of microcode updates will get you anything
without the kernel IBRS and IPBP support, which is still being
stabilized. These updates are currently necessary for people doing the
kernel work
and for testing and stabilization.  Ditto for AMD microcode updates,
which I will upload soon now that the kernel support for loading them
has made it to Linux mainline."

So I hope this is a partial answer -- there is a supplementary set of
20171215 files circulating amongst the kernel devs so they can prepare
kernel fixes that depend on them. Those kernel fixes are not yet
ready, and 20171215 isn't useful on its own.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯
-D.