Microsoft has rolled-out another update for the so-called Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities.
These security vulnerabilities, unearthed in chipsets designed and manufactured from Intel, Arm and AMD, leave sensitive data stored in the kernel open to hackers.
Intel released a security update earlier this month, however, the patch has caused a headache for users.
Intel has admitted its security fix caused some machines “higher than expected reboots”.
The reboot issue mainly affect Broadwell and Haswell processors, which were released by Intel in 2015 and 2013 respectively.
Clearly, this was a problem – and Microsoft has now taken matters into its own hands and issued an update to its Windows operating system that disables the Intel patch.
The update was pushed-out over the weekend.
This is unusual for Microsoft, which typically rolls-out its security updates and patches together in a single bundle on a Tuesday.
This hints the Redmond technology company considered the “higher than expected reboots” triggered by Intel’s patch more of a problem than Intel did.
Those who want to stick with the Intel’s problematic patch and life with the reboots, knowing they’re patched against the CPU vulnerability can do so.
Microsoft allows users to disable and re-enable the original Intel patch in the registry settings.
Detailed instructions of how to do it can be found here.
For most people, it’s probably worth sticking with the update Microsoft has pushed-out.
Intel says its working on a fix coming for its reboot problems, but it’s unclear when it’ll arrive.