Microcode Update for Celeron N2930 and Atom E3815

[MKöni]

Hello,

I wish to perform a microcode/firmware update for the Celeron N2930 and the Atom E3815 under Linux.

I've downloaded the archive microcode-20180703.tgz, because both processors are listed as supported on this page:

https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/27945/Linux-Processor-Microcode-Data-File https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/27945/Linux-Processor-Microcode-Data-File

Unfortunately the necessary microcode files (06-37-08 and 06-37-09) seem to be missing.

Are Bay Trail platforms not supported (yet)?

If that is the case, will they be supported in the future and when?

Thanks in advance!

[idata]

Hello M.I.K.e,

Thank you for contacting our support; it will be more than a pleasure to assist you.In order for me to assist you better, please provide us with the system model and brand of your two machines (where Intel Atom® E3815 and Intel® Celeron® N2930 are installed).As well, can you tell us the specific reason why you need the microcodes?Can you provide us with a longer description of the issue that you are experiencing?I hope to hear from you soon.Regards,Diego S.

[MKöni]

Thanks for your answer, Diego.

The processors come on these two boards:

Jetway NF9N-2930

Axiomtec ICO300

We sell these as part of a solution, and some customers are very security-aware. We are basically just waiting for them to ask us about fixes regarding Meltdown and Spectre.

While the systems are mostly a black-box to our customers and we almost exclusively run our own software, I guess news about "NetSpectre" (however unlikely such an attack might be) won't improve matters:

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2018/07/new-spectre-attack-enables-secrets-to-be-leaked-over-a-network/ New Spectre attack enables secrets to be leaked over a network | Ars Technica

The systems mainly run headless and a lot of our customers aren't that computer-savvy, so we'd prefer to issue microcode updates with an upcoming Linux update instead of a more complicated BIOS update.

Thanks in advance.

Take care,

Mike

[MGorb1]

Faster solution would be to download necessary microcode from Microcode Extractor https://github.com/platomav/MCExtractor site.

For Atom E3815 it should be: https://github.com/platomav/CPUMicrocodes/blob/master/Intel/cpu30679_plat0F_ver0000090A_2018-01-10_PRD_252563C5.bin CPUMicrocodes/cpu30679_plat0F_ver0000090A_2018-01-10_PRD_252563C5.bin at master · platomav/CPUMicrocodes · GitHub

For Mobile Celeron N2830: https://github.com/platomav/CPUMicrocodes/blob/master/Intel/cpu30678_plat0C_ver00000836_2018-01-10_PRD_B221B0E8.bin CPUMicrocodes/cpu30678_plat0C_ver00000836_2018-01-10_PRD_B221B0E8.bin at master · platomav/CPUMicrocodes · GitHub

Just rename that files to 06-37-09 and 06-37-08 respectively.

Note: platform indicator (plat) is quite important. I've checked Jetway NF9HG old BIOS with MCExtractor and there is microcode for 06-37-08 CPU and platform 0x0C and 0x01.

[MKöni]

Thanks for the hint, Gorbush!

I tested the microcode on the E3815 and it seems to work. While variant 3a ("rogue system register read") isn't fixed yet, it adds IBRS and IBPB.

I also found a newer revision of the microcode for one of our i5 processors. While there was a microcode file for it in the Intel archive, the newer revision added a fix for the 3a variant.

Thanks again for pointing me to this useful resource.