Users cry foul after AMD stripped memory crypto from its consumer CPUs - Ars Technica Skip to content Ars Technica home Sections Forum Subscribe Search AI Biz & IT Cars Culture Gaming Health Policy Science Security Space Tech Feature Reviews AI Biz & IT Cars Culture Gaming Health Policy Science Security Space Tech Forum Subscribe Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only Learn more Pin to story Theme HyperLight Day & Night Dark System Search Sign In Sign in dialog... Sign in AMD GIVETH; AMD TAKETH AWAY Users cry foul after AMD stripped memory crypto from its consumer CPUs AMD’s stripping of TSME from consumer CPUs appears to be a deliberate, covert move. Dan Goodin – Jun 15, 2026 1:55 pm | 99 AMD's Ryzen 7 9850X3D. Credit: Andrew Cunningham AMD's Ryzen 7 9850X3D. Credit: Andrew Cunningham Text settings Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only Learn more Minimize to nav A decade ago, AMD added a protection to its high-end CPUs to protect them against cold boot attacks and other types of physical exploits that siphon sensitive data out of the connected memory chips. Short for Transparent Secure Memory Encryption, TSME encrypts the entire contents stored in memory, making the data useless to physical attackers.
Over time, AMD added TSME to lower-end processors, including the consumer version of its Ryzen chips, a CPU that costs less than the Pro version. Over the years, users of these lower-end chips have gotten used to the added security. Recently and without warning or notice, this lower-end line of AMD chips suddenly dropped the protection, and did so in a way that was impossible to detect on Windows machines and required a fair amount of technical work when using Linux. Now you see it, now you don’t AMD has yet to say why TSME worked on these CPUs, or even to confirm the change.
Source: https://arstechnica.com/security/2026/06/users-cry-foul-after-amd-stripped-memory-crypto-from-its-consumer-cpus/
Over time, AMD added TSME to lower-end processors, including the consumer version of its Ryzen chips, a CPU that costs less than the Pro version. Over the years, users of these lower-end chips have gotten used to the added security. Recently and without warning or notice, this lower-end line of AMD chips suddenly dropped the protection, and did so in a way that was impossible to detect on Windows machines and required a fair amount of technical work when using Linux. Now you see it, now you don’t AMD has yet to say why TSME worked on these CPUs, or even to confirm the change.
Source: https://arstechnica.com/security/2026/06/users-cry-foul-after-amd-stripped-memory-crypto-from-its-consumer-cpus/