Pentium Floating Point bugs
ConceptThe Pentium Floating Point bugs refer to two infamous floating-point defects associated with Intel's Pentium microprocessor family, cited as prominent examples of 'escape bugs' that slipped past pre-silicon and pre-release design verification in the late 1990s.
First seen 6/9/2026
Last seen 6/9/2026
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Pentium Floating Point bugs
The Pentium Floating Point bugs are two well-known floating-point defects in Intel's Pentium microprocessor line that became prominent examples of defects escaping detection during microprocessor design verification. They are discussed in the literature as canonical instances of "escape bugs" — bugs that evade the verification process and reach released silicon.
Classification as escape bugs
NEIGHBORHOOD
2 nodes · 1 edgesgraph · Pentium Floating Point bugs · depth=1
RELATIONSHIPS
1 connectionsPentium Floating Point bugs are cited as specific instances of escape bugs.
LINKED ENTITIES
1 linksCITATIONS
3 sources3 citations — click to collapse
[1] The Pentium Floating Point bugs are described as the 'recent two infamous' examples of known escape bugs. Functional verification methodology for microprocessors using the Genesys test-program generator. Application to the x86 microprocessors family for DATE 1999 - IBM Research
[2] A rigorous verification methodology such as Genesys, driven by a verification plan and pseudo-random test-program generation, could have helped to avoid the Pentium Floating Point bugs. Functional verification methodology for microprocessors using the Genesys test-program generator. Application to the x86 microprocessors family for DATE 1999 - IBM Research
[3] The Pentium Floating Point bugs affected designs in the x86 microprocessor family, specifically Intel's Pentium line, and are presented as a cautionary example for microprocessor design verification. Functional verification methodology for microprocessors using the Genesys test-program generator. Application to the x86 microprocessors family for DATE 1999 - IBM Research