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Is the x86 Architecture Less Secure?

Posted by Cliff on from the oh-my-buffers dept.

An anonymous reader asks: "Paul Murphy at CIO Today reports that a specific Windows buffer overflow vulnerability ' depends on the rigid stack-order execution and limited page protection inherent in the x86 architecture. If Windows ran on Risc, that vulnerability would still exist, but it would be a non-issue because the exploit opportunity would be more theoretical than practical.' And implies that other Windows vulnerabilities are actually facilitated by having an x86 chip." How does the x86 processor compare with other architectures when it comes to processor based vulnerabilities? How well have newer additions, like the Execute Disable Bit, helped in practical situations?

5 of 315 comments (clear)

  1. thats because by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    all x86 processors have an evil bit

  2. Happy Paul Murphy Day by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    What, is there only one tech writer in the world? (See article two or three down on SCO)

  3. Well... by autocracy · · Score: 3, Funny
    F00FC7C8

    Still here? Dammit...

    --
    SIG: HUP
  4. 1993 called - they want their flamewar back by nosferatu-man · · Score: 5, Funny

    Thanks, Slashdot -- I actually read that boatload of ignorant gibberish, and now I'm measurably dumber than I was before I clicked the link. Keep this up and I too will be making specious arguments about "RISC" and "CISC".

    --
    To spur "enterprise Linux," Big Bang, the distributed two-phase commit.
  5. Not the fault of the OS at all! by carcosa30 · · Score: 4, Funny

    SO! We now know the truth: Microsoft is blameless for the shoddy security of their products. It's all the fault of the x86 architecture.

    After all, how could Microsoft be expected to learn the intricacies of their primary platform and write code that does what it's supposed to?

    We have been lied to.

    --
    Intolerance for ambiguity is the mark of the authoritarian personality.