Watch the Meltdown CPU exploit in action

Posted via an advisory page by the Graz University of Technology, researchers have videos demonstrating a CPU vulnerability, now called Meltdown, in action.

If you're just catching up, news broke earlier this week that all modern CPU architectures are vulnerable to very low-level exploits that are able to let an attacker see normally protected data inside the CPU caches.

Intel initially responded with a statement claiming that the bug wasn't really one, and that there was no cause for concern. But in a matter of hours, more evidence have surfaced showing that the vulnerabilities have massive industry wide implications.

Edward Snowden tweeted out the video, advising users to apply the patch when asked and not to avoid updates. Watch below as researchers show in real time how a Meltdown attack can reveal any sort of sensitive information:

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The videos demonstrate a script written with the exploits in mind, retrieving normally protected low level operating system kernel data. The Meltdown exploit has been shown to work in a variety of ways, while Spectre uses some similar ideas but fundamentally works in a different fashion. Spectre has the potential to affect not just Intel CPUs, but also those from AMD, ARM, and others. Let's hope Spectre proves to be more elusive when it comes to real-world attacks.

Tuan is the Editor-in-Chief of Maximum PC, and loves all things tech. He's been building PCs and ruffling feathers in the industry for 20 years, and isn't afraid to call out bad products and services. In fact, it's very common to hear the words "this is shit" escape his lips. If you want to know if something is "Kick-Ass" or not, email or tweet him.