Updated 1:30 p.m ET: This story initially stated that the flaw was with NVIDIA's hardware, which was incorrect. As NVIDIA previously stated, its hardware appears to be immune to Meltdown and Spectre, and the driver updates are meant to guard against the CPU security issue. We regret this error and the story has been updated.
NVIDIA has released an update (via Reuters) for its GPU driver software to mitigate attacks based on speculative side channel execution, shoring up its software against the Spectre exploit that has that has rocked chipmakers like Intel, AMD, and ARM since its disclosure last week.
According to NVIDIA, drivers for its GeForce, NVS, Tesla, Quadro, and GRID chips are affected by the first Spectre variant and are "potentially affected" by the second. The company says that it is not susceptible to the third variant, dubbed Meltdown.
Fixes are now available for the drivers powering NVIDIA's GeForce, Quadro, NVS, and Tesla chips, but patches aren't expected for some Tesla and GRID products until later in January, NVIDIA says. Though Microsoft has warned that fixes for Spectre and Meltdown could hinder performance, NVIDIA hasn't detailed any potential performance degradation for its own patches.
Following the disclosure of the flaws last week, Microsoft was quick to issue its own emergency fixes, and chipmakers have followed suit. The process hasn't been without its issues, however; Microsoft chose to pause its patch rollout for some AMD systems after it was reported that the fixes caused some older Athlon-based PCs to become unbootable.
If you have an NVIDIA GPU in your PC, you should be able to grab the Spectre patch now via NVIDIA's GeForce Experience software or via NVIDIA's driver update page.
The Halo Infinite beta has some strange and goofy quirks
The first Halo Infinite beta test is underway, and in their quest to help 343 Industries by testing the game, players have discovered some strange and goofy quirks in the technical preview.
Halo Infinite equipment guide: Every equipment piece and how to use them
Halo Infinite's equipment pieces can completely change the flow of a multiplayer match if you use them wisely. Here's a complete list of every Halo Infinite equipment piece, as well as how they work and how you should use them.
Rainbow Six Siege and toxicity: Why censorship is not the solution
Over the past few years, the word "toxicity" has been thrown around when people want to dismiss groups they have no interest in hearing from. However, dismissing others has transformed into silencing them, which has had serious side effects.
Pair your NVIDIA RTX 3080 with one of these great CPUs for best result
Need a new CPU to pair up with all that RTX 3080 performance? We've rounded up a bunch of the best chips depending on budget and level of performance you're looking for.