Microsoft warns that some users may be affected by an issue related to encryption capabilities combined with CPUs using Vector Advanced Encryption Standard (VAES) instructions. This problem can lead to “data corruption”. This issue affects Windows 11 and Windows Server 2022.
according to Post on Microsoft’s website (opens in new tab), services that may be affected include Bitlocker, Microsoft’s full volume encryption feature. It uses the AES instruction set supported by modern CPUs. Specifically, we use AES XEX-based fine-tuned codebook mode and ciphertext plagiarism (AES-XTS) and AES and Galois/Counter mode (GCM) (AES-GCM).
The list of affected CPUs has not been disclosed, but Intel 10th Gen and newer, and AMD Ryzen 5000 and newer CPUs are believed to be affected. This issue is believed to be due to Windows code rather than a hardware issue.
beeping computer (opens in new tab) Microsoft has been aware of this issue for some time and reportedly released preview and security releases in May and June. These interim patches have slowed performance, but there is good news. According to Microsoft support, “Performance is restored when you install the June 23, 2022 preview release or the July 12, 2022 security release.” So if you use Bitlocker or other Microsoft disk encryption, you should update Windows now.
The cause of this problem is explained as follows: “We have added a new code path to the Windows 11 (original release) and Windows Server 2022 versions of SymCrypt to take advantage of VAES (Vectorized AES) instructions. SymCrypt is the core cryptographic library for Windows. These instructions operate on Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX) registers in hardware with modern supported processors.”
The release of Windows 11 has been largely successful. But just like any widely installed operating system with its inherently myriad hardware and software combinations, the problem is always on the horizon.update problem persists (opens in new tab)and Windows Defender are known to impact performance on Intel CPUs (opens in new tab).
Linux will always be there. Led by the success of the Steam Deck, it’s always getting more game-friendly. (opens in new tab).
