Intel warns partners to stop installing security updates

Vendor had released fixes for Spectre and Meltdown vulnerabilities, but has now stated these updates should not be used

Intel has ordered partners to stop installing the fixes it has released for Spectre and Meltdown after users reported experiencing system reboots.

The updates had been having an adverse effect on Intel's Broadwell and Haswell CPUs, in both client devices and datacentres, causing them to reboot more often than usual.

The issues were first reported by Intel on 11 January, but the vendor has now issued new guidance telling the likes of OEMs, cloud service providers and software vendors to stop using the update while it works on a new solution.

"We have now identified the root cause for Broadwell and Haswell platforms, and made good progress in developing a solution to address it," Intel said.

"Over the weekend, we began rolling out an early version of the updated solution to industry partners for testing, and we will make a final release available once that testing has been completed."

It added that the current update "may introduce higher than expected reboots and other unpredictable system behaviour".

The mammoth security flaws were announced earlier this month, with Intel's share price falling over nine per cent in the days after the issues became public.

Vendors have since been scrambling to address the vulnerabilities before any security breaches occur.