anifal

> an incorrect branch prediction should have no detectable effect on the system, whereas here it does

Branch prediction is not scoped for that. Branch prediction will always change microarchitecture state, which is always detectable at some level or another. The key takeaway for designers should be that even though microarchitecture state is not exposed in the datapath it is not secured from side channel exposure.

Meltdown is mitigated by kernel page table isolation. See patch notes/ the attack paper