Linux Kernel Continues To Offer Mitigation for Spectre Mitigation
Kernel 4.19 has added another family of Spectre vulnerabilities to its list of mitigating the mitigation.
Usually, you want to mitigate all possible vulnerabilities unless we are talking about Meltdown and Spectre which are a class or family of dozens of vulnerabilities. But what sysadmins hate more than these vulnerabilities are mitigations offered to these vulnerabilities. Some of these mitigations have a massive impact on performance, while not offering any significant protection.
Gauging the pros and cons, sysadmins have gone as far as asking the Linux kernel community to give them an option to disable these mitigations. The Linux kernel community always listens.
Linux Kernel 4.15 added the ability for sysadmins to disable the kernel's built-in mitigations for the Spectre v2 vulnerability, then Linux Kernel 4.17 offered the option to disable all mitigations for Spectre v4 and now Linux Kernel 4.19 allows admins to disable mitigations for Spectre v1.
You may or may not trust NSA, but they have a very decent guide on GitHub to help keep up with all Spectre related vulnerabilities.
Subscribe to our Linux Newsletters
Find Linux and Open Source Jobs
Subscribe to our ADMIN Newsletters
Support Our Work
Linux Magazine content is made possible with support from readers like you. Please consider contributing when you’ve found an article to be beneficial.
![Learn More](https://www.linux-magazine.com/var/linux_magazin/storage/images/media/linux-magazine-eng-us/images/misc/learn-more/834592-1-eng-US/Learn-More_medium.png)
News
-
Canonical Offers 12-Year LTS for Open Source Docker Images
Canonical is expanding its LTS offering to reach beyond the DEB packages with a new distro-less Docker image.
-
Plasma Desktop 6.1 Released with Several Enhancements
If you're a fan of Plasma Desktop, you should be excited about this new point release.
-
SUSE Offers CentOS 7 Support with Liberty Linux Lite
SUSE's Liberty Linux support offering now includes CentOS 7, which means businesses won't be forced to migrate those servers for some time.
-
Ubuntu's App Center Finally Supports Local Installs Again
If you regularly download .deb files and would prefer a GUI method of installing, Ubuntu has your back.
-
AlmaLinux Now Supports Raspberry Pi 5
If you're looking to create with the Raspberry Pi 5 and want to use AlmaLinux as your OS, you're in luck because it's now possible.
-
Kubuntu Focus Releases New Iterations of Ir14 and Ir16 Laptops
If you're a fan of the Kubuntu Focus laptops or have been waiting for the right time to purchase one, that time might be now.
-
NixOS 24.05 Is Ready for Prime Time
The latest release of NixOS (Uakari) has arrived and offers its usual reproducible, declarative, and reliable goodness.
-
Linux Lite 7.0 Officially Released
Based on Ubuntu 24.04 and kernel 6.8, Linux Lite version 7 now offers more options than ever.
-
KaOS Linux 2024.05 Adds Bcachfs Support and More
With updates all around, KaOS Linux now includes support for the bcachefs file system.
-
TUXEDO Computers Unveils New Iteration of the Stellaris Laptop Line
The Stellaris Slim 15 is the 6th generation and includes either an AMD or Intel CPU