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mcloaked

Member

From: Yorkshire, UK

Registered: 2012-02-02

Posts: 1,240

Question on AMD microcode versions not latest

I have a modern AMD ryzen 4500U  machine and I have the amd-ucode package as well as the linux-firmware package installed.   When I run check the journal log for microcode I get:

$ sudo journalctl -b | grep microcode
Mar 25 18:38:14 saplinux kernel: microcode: CPU0: patch_level=0x08600104
Mar 25 18:38:14 saplinux kernel: microcode: CPU1: patch_level=0x08600104
Mar 25 18:38:14 saplinux kernel: microcode: CPU2: patch_level=0x08600104
Mar 25 18:38:14 saplinux kernel: microcode: CPU3: patch_level=0x08600104
Mar 25 18:38:14 saplinux kernel: microcode: CPU4: patch_level=0x08600104
Mar 25 18:38:14 saplinux kernel: microcode: CPU5: patch_level=0x08600104
Mar 25 18:38:14 saplinux kernel: microcode: CPU6: patch_level=0x08600104
Mar 25 18:38:14 saplinux kernel: microcode: CPU7: patch_level=0x08600104
Mar 25 18:38:14 saplinux kernel: microcode: Microcode Update Driver: v2.2.

I do include microcode early loading but no newer version is available that is loaded during boot. However if I run the spectre checker script from https://github.com/speed47/spectre-meltdown-checker it has a section checking for the latest microcode it seems the microcode is not the latest - and yes I do early microcode update in the boot process though for this machine there is no more recent microcode version than is already in the BIOS (UEFI).

 * CPU microcode is the latest known available version:  NO  (latest version is 0x8600106 dated 2020/06/19 according to builtin firmwares DB v165.20201021+i20200616)

The question I have is why is the version listed as the latest available 0x8600106 not apparently within the microcode in either the amd-ucode or the linux firmware packages?   Does it take significant time for the latest version to reach the packages we have that contain the newer microcodes?

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Mike C

loqs

Member

Registered: 2014-03-06

Posts: 17,462

Re: Question on AMD microcode versions not latest

https://github.com/platomav/CPUMicrocod … master/AMD is probably the source of the newer microcode while AMD have not provided any updates to https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/ke … /amd-ucode in the last year.

mcloaked

Member

From: Yorkshire, UK

Registered: 2012-02-02

Posts: 1,240

Re: Question on AMD microcode versions not latest

Thank you loqs - the dates in the references you quoted are stunningly out of date. Given that there seems more recent versions are indeed in principle available, I wonder if there is any mechanism to nudge some progress on this given that there is now quite a significant number of newer AMD cpus in use?

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Mike C

loqs

Member

Registered: 2014-03-06

Posts: 17,462

Re: Question on AMD microcode versions not latest

Email one of the three people who have commited AMD ucode to linux-firmware?  Perhaps AMD assumes motherboard vendors are providing the updates?

mcloaked

Member

From: Yorkshire, UK

Registered: 2012-02-02

Posts: 1,240

Re: Question on AMD microcode versions not latest

OK, I have emailed the author and committer of the latest AMD upstream patch for microcode in linux-firmware, who were named when the last AMD microcode commit was submitted just over a year ago. If I get a useful reply I will post the outcome.

Edit:  I did have a reply from one of the kernel developers about this issue.  It seems that for AMD CPUs, updates are only pushed to linux-firmware on an "as-needed" basis, and that the prevailing view is that customers should be getting microcode updates from the BIOS when it is updated, except in certain circumstances. It's also very rare for client (Ryzen) systems to get microcode updates in linux-firmware, and BIOS vendors are responsible for getting microcode updates to customers through BIOS updates. So I guess if, as in my case, the OEMs are not pushing new BIOSes, and even then may not include updated microcode, then I should not hold my breath! The only exception is for critical bug fixes/security issues, when updates would be pushed as a matter of urgency.  So having technically more recent versions of microcode that do exist, does not mean that the end-user would necessarily see it arrive either via linux-firmware or in new BIOS updates.

Last edited by mcloaked (2021-03-27 10:59:11)

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Mike C

stevexyz

Member

Registered: 2021-02-16

Posts: 2

Re: Question on AMD microcode versions not latest

This thread is very interesting and not really "newbie" ...

Regarding the Linux Kernel position is understandable, but unfortunately many manufacturer are not upgrading their MB software and moreover some of them publish JUST Windows tools for doing it easily!

I think would be nice to have a firmware update package to help in the process...

siepo

Member

Registered: 2020-11-23

Posts: 10

Re: Question on AMD microcode versions not latest

As to requiring windows: one can try to run a windows-based BIOS update from a windows install disk or windows PE based rescue disk. See e.g. https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Windows_PE or search for "windows pe" and rescue.