Linux 5.17 Delayed After Vulnerability Discovered in AMD Processors
upstart writes:
Linux 5.17 delayed after vulnerability discovered in AMD processors:
The resurgence of Spectre-like malware has pushed the release date for the next iteration of Linux for at least a week, its creator has confirmed.
In the 5.17-rc8 announcement, the kernel development head Linus Torvalds explained that the discovery of CVE-2021-26341 - a vulnerability in some AMD processors that resembles the dreaded Spectre/Meltdown fiasco, meant the team needed to apply certain patches, which complicated things for the 5.17 version of the OS.
"Last weekend, I thought I'd be releasing the final 5.17 today. That was then, this is now," he writes.
"Last week was somewhat messy, mostly because of embargoed patches we had pending with another variation of specter attacks. And while the patches were mostly fine, we had the usual "because it was hidden, all our normal testing automation did not see it either".
Once automation sees "things", all the possible and impossible combinations get tested, resulting in a "(small) flurry of fixes for the fixes."
Despite the unforeseen circumstances, Torvalds considered releasing 5.17 anyway, but decided against it, in the end.
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