Intel warns that its Meltdown and Spectre patches might introduce reliability issues on PCs and servers

Intel has warned that its fixes for the Meltdown and Spectre security vulnerabilities rushed out this week may inadvertently have made customers' PCs and servers less stable.

In a statement, the company suggested: "We have received reports from a few customers of higher system reboots after applying firmware updates."

The problem affects both Broadwell and Haswell architecture CPUs all the way from PCs to data centre servers.

The company promised to issue a new fix to make good the reliability issues introduced by its Meltdown and Spectre patches.

It was originally thought that the patch was a success, despite reports of slowing down computers. However, Intel's statement acknowledges that user roll-outs haven't been as smooth as it might have hoped.

Customers have complained to the company about a higher than usual level of system reboots following installation of the patches.

The terse statement continued: "We have received reports from a few customers of higher system reboots after applying firmware updates.

"Specifically, these systems are running Intel Broadwell and Haswell CPUs for both client and data centre. We are working quickly with these customers to understand, diagnose and address this reboot issue."

The company explained that it's investigating the incident and could release a new update within days. "If this requires a revised firmware update from Intel, we will distribute that update through the normal channels," Intel advised.

"We are also working directly with data centre customers to discuss the issue. End-users should continue to apply updates recommended by their system and operating system providers."

Intel has arguably been worst affected of all the major chip designers, with CPUs going back to 1995 affected. As the flaws are baked-in to the architecture of the CPUs, the only way to mitigate the risks associated with the flaws is with operating system workarounds.

Yesterday, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich released a statement reiterating his company's attempts to fix the flaw.

"Intel has continued to work closely with our partners with the shared goal of restoring confidence in the security of our customers' data as quickly as possible," he wrote.

"As I noted in my CES comments this week, the degree of collaboration across the industry has been remarkable. I am very proud of how our industry has pulled together and want to thank everyone for their extraordinary collaboration.

"In particular, we want to thank the Google Project Zero team for practicing responsible disclosure, creating the opportunity for the industry to address these new issues in a coordinated fashion."

However, earlier today, security specialists at F-Secure issued a report warning of new flaws in Intel's technology, this time in Intel's Advanced Management Technology (AMT) built-in to enterprise laptops.