Intel microcode updates

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Please excuse me if this question has been asked before.  I get Intel microcode updates in my LMC 20 Update Manager every once in a while.  I’m wondering if these apply to my old 2012 computer with an Intel Sandy Bridge CPU (Dual Core i3 – 2120).

The latest one I see listed in UM is 6 MB in size which is the largest I’ve ever seen.  What say ye, is it necessary to get and install this, or any microcode updates given the age of my computer?

Being 20 something in the 70's was far more fun than being 70 something in the insane 20's

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It’s hard to answer your question without going through the changelog and reading the listed CVE articles listed there to see if any of them apply to your your CPU.

Alternatively, this might help:
https://ubuntu.com/security/notices/USN-6797-1

which link was obtained from the Ubuntu Update page here (scroll down a bit to May 29 entries and the heading Intel Microcode Vulnerabilities):
https://ubuntu.com/security/notices

I always just install the microcode updates on all my Mint machines since I have more pressing matters to attend to than reading CVEs; have never had a problem and they install pretty quickly. I’ll likely install weekly Mint updates tomorrow evening including the microcode. I’ll post if something goes wrong.

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Bill C., Charlie

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The microcode update seems to be mostly for security issues.  If it works with old processors then I definitely want it, but I’m always very cautious.

Also just got this update:  “TPM2.0 TSS (Software Stack) consists of API layers provided to support TPM 2.0 chips.”   Is my Sandy Bridge i3 a TPM 2.0 chip?  I really wish I knew more about these things.

Edit:  I hope that if my cpu is not affected, that the update would know that and not do anything.

Being 20 something in the 70's was far more fun than being 70 something in the insane 20's

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IIRC a Sandy Bridge is TPM 1.2, but you can look it up easily enough.

I can’t guarantee this but I think that Intel releases microcode in batches that cover a wide variety of processors. Not every update in a release will apply to every processor. So, I think the hope you express in your Edit is correct.

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Charlie

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I usually don’t wait to install LMC updates but I think I will in these two cases.  Just the fact that they’re sending me this update means a lot, but if anything is amiss I feel better waiting to see.  Thanks a lot DrBonzo for your help.

Being 20 something in the 70's was far more fun than being 70 something in the insane 20's

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DrBonzo

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Rather than asking whether you should install any given update in Linux, I think it better to frame the question as why you would not want to install it.

In this case, there is no compelling reason not to that I can think of.

This update does not contain an updated microcode for your CPU. The most recent for you (and for my semi-retired desktop PC, which uses the same microcode as your CPU) was released by Intel on February 17, 2019, and by Ubuntu on June 19 of that year, which also has the effect of distributing it to Mint users as of that date. Thus, all this new update will do is update the microcodes that are already present on your hard drive/SSD for a bunch of newer Intel CPUs, which will not affect you at all with your older one.

It is normal for any normal Linux distribution, as installed on your hard drive or SSD, to contain all of the updated microcodes for every Intel and AMD CPU that anyone is even a little bit likely to be using today. The amount of space the microcodes use, by modern standards, is negligible, and the previous update (whichever one that may be) is already there, so most of the space used is already taken up.

It is normal for the microcode update to grow over time, as it is a cumulative update, so all new CPUs that Intel releases will have their microcodes added, and most older ones remain in there as well. Intel (the maintainer of the microcode database) does occasionally remove the microcodes for obsolete CPUs, but not very often. Our Sandy Bridges from ~2011 are still in there, even at 13 years old.

You don’t need to worry about the system trying to load the wrong microcode and messing things up. If the microcode does not contain your CPUID (0x206A7), the system will just ignore it… and it has been doing that ever since the beginning on pretty much all Linux systems. From the moment any given Linux distro is installed, all the available microcodes are installed as part of the basic setup. If one matches, it will use that, and if not, it will use the one that is stored in the BIOS or UEFI. The ones that do not match just sit there.

So if it does nothing, you don’t need this update, per se, so you could skip it if you really wanted to. But by installing it, you prevent it from popping up each time you look at the available updates, and remove one headache from the equation. You could lock the microcode at the current version to keep it from updating, which would get rid of the update prompt, but then if Intel ever does release a new microcode for your CPU (unlikely, but not impossible), you would not receive it, or even know it had been offered. And if one day you do upgrade, you may forget you had it locked (I certainly would) and you’ll miss all the updates from that point on.

 

Dell XPS 13/9310, i5-1135G7/16GB, KDE Neon 6.2
XPG Xenia 15, i7-9750H/32GB & GTX1660ti, Kubuntu 24.04
Acer Swift Go 14, i5-1335U/16GB, Kubuntu 24.04 (and Win 11)

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jburk07, Bill C., SueW, Mothy, Cybertooth, DrBonzo, Charlie

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Thanks Ascaris, that’s good information.  Most of the previous microcode updates from my LMC UM were fairly small.  This one is a 6 MB download which installs (maybe) over 12 MB of data according to the Synaptic Package Manager.  The Changelog shows mostly security info. and I’m all for that if it applies.

Being 20 something in the 70's was far more fun than being 70 something in the insane 20's

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Well, if it has always been smaller than that and it’s suddenly noticeably bigger now, I am not sure why that is the case. I  just received the microcode update on the PC I am using now (the Xenia 15), and it is only incrementally larger than the previous version, at 6.9 MB to download and 14.1 MB installed size for the new one, and 14.0 MB installed size for the old one. That’s with Kubuntu 24.04, though, which is newer than Mint at present.

Intel releases the microcodes for their CPUs periodically, and the distros package the files and distribute them to customers. This is independent of Linux version, and even of Linux as a whole. I am not sure why the size has changed. I would have thought it would be the same for all of them.

Dell XPS 13/9310, i5-1135G7/16GB, KDE Neon 6.2
XPG Xenia 15, i7-9750H/32GB & GTX1660ti, Kubuntu 24.04
Acer Swift Go 14, i5-1335U/16GB, Kubuntu 24.04 (and Win 11)

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Charlie

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Just updated the following 4 Mint computers with FF 126.01, Intel microcode, and TPM 2.0 TSS. No issues.

2009 HP laptop, AMD Athlon, Mint 21.1 Cinnamon
2009 Gateway laptop, Intel Atom, Mint 21.1 Xfce
2009 Acer laptop, Intel Centrino, Mint 20.3 Cinnamon
2016 Dell Inspiron laptop, Intel 5th gen i3, Mint 20.3 Cinnamon

The Dell is my daily driver; the others are “canary” machines.

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bassmanzam, Charlie

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Same here on two Dell Inspiron 3670 desktop PC’s with Linux Mint 21.2. Ever since switching to Linux Mint almost 1.5 years ago, I have always installed all updates that come through the Update Manager and never had an issue. But prior to installing any updates, it is recommended to take a Timeshift snapshot so you always have something to fall back on if needed. Or in my case instead of Timeshift, I use Foxclone (Linux equivalent to Macrium Reflect) to create a system image.

Edit: also wanted to add that the Linux Mint forums are an excellent resource. I have learned a lot just by frequently browsing/reading the forum using the link below. There are also many other very friendly and experienced users of Linux Mint if you decide to create a post asking for help with something.

https://forums.linuxmint.com/search.php?search_id=active_topics

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bassmanzam, Charlie, SueW, DrBonzo

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Later on yesterday I did the two CPU updates, along with a couple of others in the UM.  Things are okay with no issues here.  I have not done the Firefox 126.0.1 yet (when FF is working well with no problems I wait a while to update. Security issues speed things up though).  Thanks again to both of you for the much appreciated help.

Being 20 something in the 70's was far more fun than being 70 something in the insane 20's

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DrBonzo

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I’m marking this resolved, thanks again to everyone for the help.

Being 20 something in the 70's was far more fun than being 70 something in the insane 20's

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DrBonzo

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