appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

Ben Jiang

Chips from Chinese semiconductor designer Hygon Information Technology were found unaffected by a recently disclosed vulnerability in products developed by its US tech licenser and former joint venture partner Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), according to analysts, which showed progress in China’s self-reliance drive.
Hygon’s central processing units (CPUs), which were developed under a licence to use AMD’s X86-based Zen chip architecture, did not have the hardware security flaw that affected a range of AMD artificial intelligence chips that were widely installed in various data centres and cloud infrastructure operations, according to Chen Bingxin, an analyst at semiconductors consultancy JW Insights.
Chen attributed that result to Hygon’s years of investments in redesigning AMD’s chip architecture with self-developed innovations.
It underscored efforts by Chinese chip designers to become less exposed to Western technology risks.
AMD and Hygon did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.
Hygon’s successful initiative to diverge from AMD’s original chip architecture marked a milestone in China, where developers are pushing for increased autonomy in core technology and security for locally designed semiconductors, according to JW Insights’ Chen.

The hardware security flaw affecting AMD’s chips, code-named StackWarp, was disclosed in a report published on January 15, by the German cybersecurity institution CISPA Helmholtz Centre for Information Security.
A team of researchers at the centre said the vulnerability, found in AMD’s flagship Zen 1 through Zen 5 processor families, could be exploited to bypass key cloud security features and “posed a serious risk to cloud services”.
The vulnerability targeted AMD’s SEV-SNP technology, which was designed to protect its chips during sensitive cloud computing workloads, according to the researchers.
Hygon, meanwhile, used its self-developed CSV3 technology on its chips for the same purpose, which made its products immune to attackers looking to exploit the StackWarp flaw, according to JW Insights’ Chen.
He said the impact of AMD’s hardware security flaw showed further bifurcation in x86 chip architecture development, as Hygon showed that it had established a fully self-reliant x86 ecosystem in China.
X86 was originally a family of complex computer architectures developed by US semiconductor giant Intel. Most server, desktop and laptop computers are now based on various iterations of that architecture.
AMD has already released a software patch to counter the StackWarp vulnerability, but this workaround was expected to cause a loss in performance for the affected chips. That created a dilemma for cloud services operators, as they weighed security against performance amid rising AI demand.
Founded in 2014, Hygon, which designs CPUs and accelerators for AI applications, is a major player in China’s drive for tech self-sufficiency. Its chips were widely used in the cloud computing, finance, energy and government sectors, according to its website.


The US-China tech war has evolved since the last Xi-Trump summit. Who has the edge now?

Top US Senate Democrat Jeanne Shaheen warns Trump not to waver on Taiwan ahead of Xi meet

Philippines tribe vows to stand ground against US-led Pax Silica: ‘listen to us’

As the US weighs restrictions on cloud computing, how will China’s AI sector adapt?

Semiconductors

Hygon’s chips ‘safe’ from AMD security flaw amid China’s tech self-reliance drive

A Hygon accelerator used in artificial intelligence model training and inference. Photo: Hygon

Advanced Micro Devices chair and CEO Lisa Su shows the company’s EPYC “Venice” graphics processing unit during a press conference ahead of the opening of the CES trade show in Las Vegas on January 5, 2026. Photo: AFP

Fighting back: Beijing builds its own ‘small yard, high fence’ to shut out US tech

Illustration: Henry Wong

National security adviser Jake Sullivan speaks during a press briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C., in this file photo dated October 1, 2024. Photo: Abaca Press/TNS

In this photo illustration, the Manus AI logo is seen displayed on a smartphone screen with the Meta logo in the background. Photo: SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Beijing launched an investigation into back door risks of Nvidia chips in July. Photo: Shutterstock Images

Nvidia’s H200 AI chip. Photo: Handout

Chinese firms to incur higher costs for deploying advanced AI chips from US: analysts

The new import duties on advanced AI chips cover Nvidia’s H200 and Advanced Micro Devices’ MI325X graphics processing units. Photo: Shutterstock

The Bureau of Industry and Security, under the US Department of Commerce, this week gave Nvidia a conditional go-ahead to sell its H200 graphics processing units in China. Photo: Reuters

China’s top contract chipmakers pursue acquisitions amid Beijing’s self-sufficiency drive

Big-ticket acquisitions by Hua Hong Semiconductor and Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp signal a fresh round of consolidation in the country’s chip industry. Photo: Shutterstock


The facade of Hua Hong Semiconductor’s headquarters in Shanghai. Photo: Handout

Chinese supercomputer maker Sugon and chip developer Hygon call off merger plans

Supercomputer maker Sugon remains the largest shareholder of chip designer Hygon. Photo: Handout

The headquarters of Sugon is at the Zhongguancun Software Park in Beijing. Photo: Handout

Tech

Tech Trends

Big Tech

Business

China Business

Companies

News

China Future Tech

Economy, Trade & Business

That result shows Hygon’s efforts in redesigning the chip architecture licensed from AMD with self-developed innovations


That result shows Hygon’s efforts in redesigning the chip architecture licensed from AMD with self-developed innovations.


Hygon’s chips ‘safe’ from AMD security flaw amid China’s tech self-reliance drive

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}That result shows Hygon’s efforts in redesigning the chip architecture licensed from AMD with self-developed innovations

That result shows Hygon’s efforts in redesigning the chip architecture licensed from AMD with self-developed innovations