Details

USN-3531-1 updated Intel microcode to the 20180108 release. Regressions

were discovered in the microcode updates which could cause system

instability on certain hardware platforms. At the request of Intel, we have

reverted to the previous packaged microcode version, the 20170707 release.

Original advisory details:

It was discovered that microprocessors utilizing speculative execution

and branch prediction may allow unauthorized memory reads via sidechannel

attacks. This flaw is known as Spectre. A local attacker could use this to

expose sensitive information, including kernel memory. (CVE-2017-5715)

This update provides the microcode updates required for the corresponding

Linux kernel updates.