Hardware Speculation Vulnerabilities and Mitigations

Abstract

This paper will discuss speculation vulnerabilities, which arise from hardware speculation, an optimization technique. Unlike many other types of vulnerabilities, these are very difficult to patch completely, and there are techniques developed to mitigate them. We will look at many of the variants of this type of vulnerability. We will look at the techniques mitigating those vulnerabilities and the effectiveness and scope of each. Finally, we will compare and evaluate different vulnerabilities and mitigation techniques and recommend how various mitigation techniques apply to different situations.