Intel: the 8th generation Xeon and Core processors will completely solve Meltdown and Spectre flaws

Intel CEO Brian Krzanich announced today that next-generation Xeon-based Scalable (Cascade Lake) processors and eighth-generation Intel Core processors will use newly designed components and solve the “Meltdown” and “Spectre” vulnerabilities. The “Spectre” variant 1 still needs to be solved by software. Intel’s next-generation processors will address “Spectre” variant 2 and “Meltdown” variant 3 through hardware design changes.

The next-generation Xeon-based Scalable (Cascade Lake) processors and the eighth-generation Intel Core processors will ship to manufacturers in the second half of 2018. In addition to hardware changes, Intel also stated that it will introduce software microcode updates for all products in the past five years and recommends that all customers upgrade the system to the latest version.

Krzanich said in a statement “As we bring these new products to market, ensuring that they deliver the performance improvements people expect from us is critical. Our goal is to offer not only the best performance but also the best secure performance.”

Apple started to solve the “Meltdown” and “Spectre” vulnerabilities in early January of this year and released iOS 11.2, macOS 10.13.2, and tvOS 11.2 upgrade bug fixes. Additional updates to iOS 11.2.2 and macOS High Sierra 10.13.2 fix ghost holes.