● Covered by 1 source · 1 reportLow impact1 negative
AMD Random Number Generator Reportedly Fails to Produce Zero Values
Key points
- AMD Ryzen 7 RNGs did not produce a single '0' over nine days of testing.
- The user developed an application to test and benchmark RNGs.
- RNG performance varies significantly across different Intel and AMD processors.
- AMD has internally escalated the user's report.
Observation of Missing Zeroes
A user conducting tests on AMD Ryzen 7 processors reported that the integrated random number generators (RNGs) on two separate devices consistently failed to produce the value zero. This observation was made over a period of nine days, during which no '0' output was recorded from either AMD unit.
Testing Methodology and Tool Development
To investigate this behavior, the user developed a custom application capable of testing and benchmarking random number generators. This tool was updated to allow testing on processors without the 'rdseed' instruction and to provide performance benchmarks for different RNG implementations.
Varying RNG Performance Across Processors
Benchmarking results from the custom application showed significant differences in RNG performance across various processors. For instance, a 2012 Core i5 generated 12.6 million numbers per second, while a 2017 Core i7 7700 produced 750,000 numbers per second. The AMD Ryzen 7 generated approximately 2.6 million numbers per second, with its generator being unaffected by clock variations, unlike the clock-dependent Core i5.
Internal Escalation by AMD
The user has reported this issue to AMD, and the company has internally escalated the case. The user is awaiting a precise update from AMD regarding the reported behavior of their random number generators.
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Primary sources
GitHub Jesse-6/random-fryer GitHub Jesse-6/fastcall_v1 GitHub alcopaul/beth_GviLLErMo_GIMOReporting from
A user reports that AMD's random number generators (RNGs) on two different Ryzen 7 processors consistently fail to output the value zero. This observation, made over nine days of testing, suggests a potential issue with the hardware RNG implementation in certain AMD CPUs.