AMD releases updated chipset driver for Windows 11/10 supporting Ryzen 3000 to 9000 series

AMD has unveiled a new chipset driver, version 6.10.17.152, today. A key feature of this update is the introduction of Control-flow Enforcement Technology (CET) Shadow Stack compatibility across several chipset components, as the relevant driver executables are now marked with Microsoft’s “/CETCOMPAT”linker.

For those unfamiliar with it, Microsoft’s CETCOMPAT signifies compatibility with the CET framework, which enhances system security by providing hardware-enforced stack protection against control flow hijacking. This technology was first introduced with Windows 10 20H1.

CET comprises two critical elements: Shadow Stack and Indirect Branch Targeting (IBT). The Shadow Stack feature is designed to defend systems against Return Oriented Programming (ROP) attacks, while IBT provides protection against Call or Jump Oriented Programming (COP/JOP) threats.

The functionality of CET relies on comparing the standard program stack to a hardware-maintained replica, known as the Shadow Stack, ensuring the preservation of return addresses’ integrity. In simpler terms, Shadow Stack serves as a barrier against malware trying to manipulate the legitimate software processes by flagging potentially compromised operations for prevention.

AMD Ryzen processors from the Zen 3 architecture (Ryzen 5000 series) onward have included support for Shadow Stack, which means that the newer Ryzen 6000 (Zen 3+), Ryzen 7000 (Zen 4), and Ryzen 9000 (Zen 5) series CPUs are also equipped with this compatibility.

Additionally, to combat indirect branch target injection attacks, AMD CPUs utilize features like Indirect Branch Prediction Barrier (IBPB), Indirect Branch Restricted Speculation (IBRS), and Single Thread Indirect Branch Predictor (STIBP), with IBPB often recommended for Windows users.

Alongside CET support, this chipset update addresses several bugs and adds new device IDs. However, AMD has yet to resolve the ongoing failed uninstallation issue, still noted in the known problems section, and the bug affecting the installation/upgrade of the Ryzen provisioning package persists.

Here is the complete changelog:

Release Highlights

• Support for new programs has been added.

• CETCOMPAT support has been introduced for select drivers under Windows 11.
• Bug fixes implemented.

Known Issues

• Driver names may display in English on non-English operating systems.
• The uninstallation summary may inaccurately report the status as Failed.
• The Ryzen PPKG installation/upgrade issue may occur sporadically.

The detailed list of changes across various chipset components is provided in the table below. Notably, drivers such as those for Ryzen power plans and PCI devices have not experienced any modifications, while others, including Micro PEP (Platform Extension Plug-in), PMF (Platform Management Framework), I2C (Inter-Integrated Circuit), and UART (Universal Asynchronous Receiver-Transmitter), have all received CETCOMPAT support.

You can acquire the driver from this page on AMD’s official platform. Be aware that this driver does not support Windows 10 with the latest generation of AMD mobile chips.

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