Abstract
Row hammer in dynamic random access memories (DRAM) is an effect by which repeatedly activating a row of the DRAM causes bits in nearby rows to flip. Because OS and program variables can be stored adjacent to each other in the DRAM, a malicious program can repeatedly activate DRAM rows to flip nearby bits that store important OS states (e.g., program privileges). In this manner, an attacker can gain unauthorized, privileged access to a computer. This disclosure describes techniques that use a combination of indirection and randomization to make it difficult for an attacker to hammer DRAM rows. Per the techniques, the relationship between memory addresses and physical rows is made random and dynamic, such that the physical relationship between the rows is difficult, if not impossible, to discover and exploit.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
N/A, "Preventing Row Hammer Attacks by Dynamic Indirection of Row Addresses", Technical Disclosure Commons, (June 24, 2020)
https://www.tdcommons.org/dpubs_series/3361