How Your DRAM Becomes a Security Problem

Explore a critical security vulnerability in DRAM architecture common to computers and various devices in this Black Hat conference talk. Delve into the research revealing how DRAM design creates an attack surface for side channel attacks, largely independent of software flaws, operating systems, virtualization technology, and CPU. Understand the role of the row buffer in DRAM modules and how it can be exploited. Learn about address translation, physical addressing, and DRAM organization. Discover techniques for bypassing data caches and measuring differences in DRAM access. Examine the process of reversing mapping functions and spying on memory. Investigate practical attack scenarios, potential solutions, and the intricacies of DRAM packets. Explore the concept of Rowhammer attacks, including their application to DDR4 memory. Gain valuable insights into this critical security issue and its implications for modern computing systems.