New AMD Zen 5 Chips Can Leak Sensitive Data

Critical vulnerabilities in AMD processors, including the new Zen 5, could allow attackers to steal sensitive data and compromise cryptographic operations.

Security researchers have uncovered significant vulnerabilities in the microcode of some AMD processors, identified as CVE-2024-36350 and CVE-2024-36357. The flaws relate to how the processors handle data in their internal memory stores. Under certain conditions, information from a previous operation is not fully cleared, allowing a subsequent process to potentially infer or read leftover data. This type of side-channel attack could be exploited by an attacker with local access to the system, meaning they would need to run malicious code on the target machine. The discovery is notable because it affects a range of AMD CPUs, including the company's latest Zen 5 architecture. The issue was first reported in an Ubuntu Security Notice, highlighting its relevance for server and cloud environments that rely on AMD hardware.

The primary risk posed by these vulnerabilities is the leakage of sensitive information. An attacker could potentially use this flaw to access privileged data that should be isolated, such as cryptographic keys, passwords, or other confidential information. This is particularly dangerous in multi-tenant environments like public cloud infrastructure, where multiple customers share the same physical hardware. A malicious actor in one virtual machine could theoretically spy on data from another. The impact extends beyond servers to desktops and laptops running the affected AMD processors, putting both business and personal data at risk. Because the flaw affects the fundamental operation of the CPU, it could undermine the security of cryptographic operations and the integrity of protected memory, making it a critical issue for IT and security teams.

AMD is expected to release updated microcode to mitigate these vulnerabilities. These patches will be distributed through operating system updates and firmware (BIOS/UEFI) updates from motherboard and system manufacturers. System administrators and security professionals should actively monitor for these updates from their respective vendors, such as Microsoft, Canonical for Ubuntu, and hardware partners like Dell or HP. Applying these patches as soon as they become available is the only effective way to protect systems from potential exploitation. Given the widespread use of AMD processors, a timely rollout of these fixes is crucial for securing the broader technology ecosystem.