AMD has started issuing updates to address certain — but not all — chips affected by the newly discovered “Sinkclose” security vulnerability. This flaw, uncovered by researchers at IOActive, was detailed in a report from Wired last week, indicating it impacts most AMD processors dating back to 2006. While AMD’s security team is working on patching some of these systems, Tom’s Hardware reports that the Ryzen 1000, 2000, and 3000 series, along with the Threadripper 1000 and 2000, will not be receiving these updates.
The company informed Tom’s Hardware that these models fall under “older products that are outside our software support window.” In contrast, newer models and all of AMD’s embedded processors have either already received or are scheduled to receive the patch. The Sinkclose vulnerability poses a greater risk to governments and large entities rather than average users, and exploiting it requires significant access to a specific system. However, researchers warned that if successfully exploited, it could be disastrous, allowing hackers to execute code in the chips’ normally secure System Management Mode.
