The CPU is a simple stack virtual machine with a specialized reduced instruction set. Execution algorithm: The VM fetches an opcode from system memory pointed by CS:IP. There is a table of instruction ...

CPU microcode represents low-level instructions essential for the proper CPU functioning, acting as a bridge between the CPU’s architecture and the electronic circuits that execute instructions.

My understanding was that a CPU microcode update is stored in non-volatile memory on the motherboard and is loaded by the BIOS or UEFI into volatile memory on the CPU during boot. And because the ...

Google researchers recently published proof-of-concept code demonstrating the ability to create malicious microcode patches on AMD processors from Zen 1 through Zen 4. This vulnerability would allow ...

Intel’s much-anticipated 0x114 microcode patch has started rolling out to Z890 motherboards despite not being released officially, and the ASRock Z890 Taichi OCF is one of the first boards to see the ...

Opinion All malicious attacks on digital systems have one common aim: taking control. Mostly, that means getting a CPU somewhere to turn traitor, running code that silently steals or scrambles your ...

Those who recover disk drives know how easy it is also to destroy them. This week’s column, Awaiting the PC Killers, discusses the possibility of using such knowledge to create highly destructive ...

Motherboard vendors have started to deploy BIOS updates based on the AGESA 1.2.0.3C firmware. The new BIOS addresses a critical security vulnerability in AMD's Zen 5 chips found last month. This ...