A newly discovered class of vulnerabilities in Intel processors, termed Branch Predictor Race Conditions (BPRC), allows attackers to systematically extract sensitive data from the cache and random-access memory (RAM) of other users sharing the same hardware.
Affecting all Intel processors released in the past six years-including those in consumer devices and cloud server infrastructure-the vulnerability exploits speculative execution technologies designed to accelerate computational performance.
Researchers from ETH Zurich’s Computer Security Group (COMSEC) demonstrated that malicious actors could leverage BPRC to bypass privilege barriers at the processor level, achieving unauthorized readouts of memory contents at rates exceeding 5,000 bytes per second.
This flaw poses acute risks for multi-tenant cloud environments, where shared hardware resources amplify the potential for cross-user data breaches.
Speculative Execution and Its Inherent Security Trade-Offs
Modern processors employ speculative execution to predict and precompute likely instructions, reducing latency in program execution.
By anticipating branches in code execution paths, such as conditional statements, CPUs can maintain computational throughput even during delays caused by data fetches from slower memory systems. However, this performance optimization creates side channels that attackers can exploit.
ETH Zurich’s Kaveh Razavi, head of COMSEC, notes that speculative technologies “fundamentally undermin
Source: https://cybersecuritynews.com/new-vulnerability-affects-all-intel-processors/
TPRM report: https://www.rankiteo.com/company/intel-corporation
"id": "int0000000051625",
"linkid": "intel-corporation",
"type": "Vulnerability",
"date": "2025-05-16T00:00:00.000Z",
"severity": "85",
"impact": "4",
"explanation": "Attack with significant impact with customers data leaks"{'incident': {'affected_entities': [{'customers_affected': ['Consumers',
'Enterprise '
'Clients',
'Cloud Service '
'Providers (e.g., '
'AWS, Azure, '
'Google Cloud)',
'Data Centers'],
'industry': 'Semiconductors/Technology',
'location': 'Santa Clara, California, USA',
'name': 'Intel Corporation',
'size': 'Large (Global)',
'type': 'Hardware Manufacturer'},
{'customers_affected': 'All customers '
'using shared '
'Intel-based '
'infrastructure',
'industry': 'Cloud Computing',
'location': 'Global',
'name': 'Cloud Service Providers '
'(Multi-Tenant Environments)',
'size': 'Varies (Large Scale)',
'type': 'Service Provider'}],
'attack_vector': ['Local Privilege Escalation',
'Cross-Tenant Data Theft in Cloud Environments',
'Memory Cache Exploitation'],
'customer_advisories': ['Intel and cloud providers should issue '
'advisories warning customers of '
'potential risks and mitigation steps.'],
'data_breach': {'data_encryption': None,
'data_exfiltration': ['Demonstrated at 5,000+ '
'bytes per second'],
'file_types_exposed': None,
'number_of_records_exposed': None,
'personally_identifiable_information': ['Potential '
'(if '
'stored '
'in '
'memory)'],
'sensitivity_of_data': ['High (depends on memory '
'contents, e.g., '
'encryption keys, '
'passwords, PII)'],
'type_of_data_compromised': ['Memory Cache Data',
'RAM Contents',
'Potentially '
'Sensitive '
'User/Data Center '
'Information']},
'description': 'A newly discovered class of vulnerabilities in '
'Intel processors, termed Branch Predictor Race '
'Conditions (BPRC), allows attackers to '
'systematically extract sensitive data from the '
'cache and random-access memory (RAM) of other '
'users sharing the same hardware. Affecting all '
'Intel processors released in the past six '
'years—including those in consumer devices and '
'cloud server infrastructure—the vulnerability '
'exploits speculative execution technologies '
'designed to accelerate computational '
'performance. Researchers from ETH Zurich’s '
'Computer Security Group (COMSEC) demonstrated '
'that malicious actors could leverage BPRC to '
'bypass privilege barriers at the processor '
'level, achieving unauthorized readouts of memory '
'contents at rates exceeding 5,000 bytes per '
'second. This flaw poses acute risks for '
'multi-tenant cloud environments, where shared '
'hardware resources amplify the potential for '
'cross-user data breaches.',
'impact': {'brand_reputation_impact': ['Potential Erosion of '
'Trust in Intel Hardware '
'Security',
'Concerns Over Cloud '
'Security'],
'conversion_rate_impact': None,
'customer_complaints': None,
'data_compromised': ['Memory Contents',
'Cache Data',
'RAM Data (Cross-Tenant in Cloud '
'Environments)'],
'downtime': None,
'financial_loss': None,
'identity_theft_risk': ['High (if PII is stored in '
'affected memory)'],
'legal_liabilities': None,
'operational_impact': ['Potential for Cross-User Data '
'Breaches',
'Privilege Escalation Risks',
'Compromised Confidentiality '
'in Shared Hardware'],
'payment_information_risk': ['High (if payment data '
'is processed on '
'vulnerable systems)'],
'revenue_loss': None,
'systems_affected': ['Intel Processors (Last 6 Years)',
'Consumer Devices',
'Cloud Server Infrastructure',
'Multi-Tenant Environments']},
'investigation_status': 'Ongoing (Research Demonstrated by ETH '
'Zurich; No Public Incidents Reported '
'Yet)',
'lessons_learned': ['Speculative execution optimizations '
'introduce fundamental security trade-offs '
'that can be exploited via side channels.',
'Hardware-level vulnerabilities can have '
'cascading impacts across consumer, '
'enterprise, and cloud environments.',
'Multi-tenant cloud architectures require '
'additional safeguards to prevent cross-user '
'data leakage via hardware flaws.'],
'motivation': ['Data Theft',
'Espionage',
'Unauthorized Access to Sensitive Information'],
'post_incident_analysis': {'corrective_actions': None,
'root_causes': ['Inherent security '
'flaws in speculative '
'execution '
'implementations in '
'Intel processors.',
'Lack of '
'hardware-level '
'isolation between '
'tenants in shared '
'environments.',
'Performance '
'optimizations '
'prioritized over '
'security in CPU '
'design.']},
'recommendations': ['Intel should release microcode/firmware '
'patches to mitigate BPRC exploits.',
'Cloud providers should implement network '
'segmentation and memory isolation '
'techniques for shared hardware.',
'Organizations should monitor for unusual '
'memory access patterns indicative of '
'speculative execution attacks.',
'Long-term: Redesign speculative execution '
'mechanisms to eliminate side-channel risks '
'without sacrificing performance.'],
'references': [{'date_accessed': None,
'source': 'ETH Zurich’s Computer Security Group '
'(COMSEC)',
'url': None}],
'regulatory_compliance': {'fines_imposed': None,
'legal_actions': None,
'regulations_violated': None,
'regulatory_notifications': None},
'response': {'adaptive_behavioral_waf': None,
'communication_strategy': None,
'containment_measures': None,
'enhanced_monitoring': ['Recommended for detecting '
'anomalous memory access '
'patterns'],
'incident_response_plan_activated': None,
'law_enforcement_notified': None,
'network_segmentation': ['Recommended for cloud '
'providers to mitigate '
'cross-tenant risks'],
'on_demand_scrubbing_services': None,
'recovery_measures': None,
'remediation_measures': None,
'third_party_assistance': ['ETH Zurich’s Computer '
'Security Group '
'(COMSEC)']},
'title': 'Branch Predictor Race Conditions (BPRC) Vulnerability '
'in Intel Processors',
'type': ['Hardware Vulnerability',
'Side-Channel Attack',
'Speculative Execution Exploit'],
'vulnerability_exploited': 'Branch Predictor Race Conditions '
'(BPRC) in Intel Processors '
'(Speculative Execution Side '
'Channel)'}}