Intel CPU 'Downfall' Security Vulnerability Class Action

In August 2023, Intel disclosed a critical hardware security vulnerability dubbed 'Downfall' (formally CVE-2022-40982) affecting Intel Core processors from the 6th through 11th generations — chips sold in hundreds of millions of laptops, desktops, and servers worldwide between 2015 and 2021. The flaw, rooted in Intel's memory optimization features, allows a malicious actor to access and steal sensitive data — including passwords, encryption keys, and private communications — from other users or applications sharing the same processor. Security researchers at Google discovered the vulnerability and privately disclosed it to Intel nearly a year before the public announcement.

Class action lawsuits filed in federal court allege that Intel sold processors it knew or should have known were defective, failed to timely disclose the vulnerability to consumers, and left users with an unacceptable choice: continue using insecure chips or apply Intel-issued microcode patches that independent benchmarks found reduced processor performance by as much as 50% in certain workloads — effectively degrading the product consumers paid for. Plaintiffs seek compensation for the diminished value of affected CPUs, lost productivity, and the costs of hardware upgrades necessitated by the security flaw. The case is part of a growing wave of CPU-level vulnerability litigation that also includes prior cases over Intel's Spectre and Meltdown flaws.