Intel has a bunch of new Spectre mitigation microcode updates, this time the chip giant patched all the way back to the first-generation Core CPU, the Westmere architecture. Other architectures that received updates include Lynnfield, Sandy Bridge, and Ivy Bridge. Some of these patches are beta, others are pre-production and production level.
This update probably features hardening against "Spectre" variant 4, and perhaps even RSRR (rogue system register read) variant 3A, chronicled in CVE-2018-3640.
