Bug#753370: pu: package intel-microcode/1.20140624.1
Package: release.debian.org
Severity: normal
User: release.debian.org@packages.debian.org
Usertags: pu
Please approve a fast-track upload of intel-microcode to non-free stable
(Wheezy).
Intel has issued a high-priority microcode update, which better addresses
the critical errata already fixed by the microcode update currently in
wheezy-proposed-updates.
I have also reason to believe it extends the fixes on the previous microcode
update to the other Ivy Bridge processors, but unfortunately I cannot verify
this at this time because updated releases of the Processor Specification
Updates were not published yet.
I have also reason to believe this update enables RDRAND support on at least
some of the Xeon E5-v2, so it enhances system security (unfortunately I
don't have any at hand to verify this). It also probably fixes a very nasty
erratum that can cause immediate system failure (emergency thermal poweroff
of the processor) too early, while the processor was still well within its
thermal envelope and there was no reason to cause data loss. These errata
are listed for the Xeon E5v2, which has the most up-to-date specification
update.
For Haswell processors, it probably fixes a nasty erratum on features that
are not yet on any released kernel (Intel PT and Intel TMX used at the same
time will cause unpredictable system behaviour)... but it could also fix
other undisclosed errata that are active on current kernels.
The update is believed safe from regressions, as no microcodes were removed.
Canonical, which has access to better information from Intel than we do, has
fast tracked this update to all currently supported Ubuntu releases,
including their LTS releases. In fact, it was Canonical that hinted that
this update enhanced the fixes present on the previous update.
I've attached the proposed diff, with the microcode data hunks removed for
brevity. Diffstat below:
b/changelog | 9
b/debian/changelog | 21
b/microcode-20140624.dat |38773 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
microcode-20140430.dat |38709 ----------------------------------------------
4 files changed, 38803 insertions(+), 38709 deletions(-)
Thank you.
-- System Information:
Debian Release: 7.5
APT prefers proposed-updates
APT policy: (990, 'proposed-updates'), (990, 'stable'), (500, 'stable-updates')
Architecture: amd64 (x86_64)
Foreign Architectures: i386
Kernel: Linux 3.10.45+ (SMP w/8 CPU cores)
Locale: LANG=pt_BR.UTF-8, LC_CTYPE=pt_BR.UTF-8 (charmap=UTF-8)
Shell: /bin/sh linked to /bin/dash
--
"One disk to rule them all, One disk to find them. One disk to bring
them all and in the darkness grind them. In the Land of Redmond
where the shadows lie." -- The Silicon Valley Tarot
Henrique Holschuh
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