Cybersecurity researchers called for computer systems to urgently install updates a day after the release of details of the so-called Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities affecting the chips powering most modern PCs and many mobile devices.
Researchers on Wednesday published details of the flaw, which unlike many other vulnerabilities stems from the chip itself and how it safeguards private data stored on computers and networks.
The researchers at Google showed how a hacker could exploit the flaw to get passwords, encryption codes and more, even though there have been no reports of any attacks using the vulnerability.
The revelations "attack the foundational modern computer building block capability that enforces protection of the (operating system)," said Steve Grobman, chief technology officer at security firm McAfee.
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Computer chipmaking giant Intel -- the focus of the first reports on the flaw -- said the company and its partners "have made significant progress in deploying updates" to mitigate any threats.
"In addition, many operating system vendors, public cloud service providers, device manufacturers and others have indicated that they have already updated their products and services."
But John Bambenek, a Fidelis security researcher who works with the SANS Internet Storm Center, warned that it may be too soon to know the extent of the problem.
"This bug is probably worth its name and logo considering the pervasive nature of the vulnerability," Bambenek said in a blog post.
In a web page dedicated to the vulnerability, security researchers said Meltdown and Spectre may "get hold of secrets stored in the memory of other running programs. This might include your passwords stored in a password manager or browser, your personal photos, emails, instant messages and even business-critical documents."
The two flaws "work on personal computers, mobile devices, and in the cloud," the researchers said.
It advised only getting apps from its online App Store which vets programs for safety, and said it has already released some "mitigations" to protect against the exploit and planned to release a defensive update for Safari on macOS and iOS in the coming days.
Some experts pointed out that the only real "fix" in some cases would be replacing the chip itself, which would be a massive issue for the computing industry.
"The bad news is, Spectre, in particular can't be completely mitigated by patching as it seems it will require a hardware fix. The good news is that Spectre is harder to exploit."
The US government's Computer Emergency Response Team initially indicated in a bulletin that only a hardware fix would solve the problem, but then removed that from an update.
"Fully removing the vulnerability requires replacing vulnerable CPU (central processing unit) hardware," said the first bulletin.
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