2017/03/02 by Onur Mutlu, Mutlu, Onur · 3 citations
Computer Science · Engineering · #Advanced Data Storage Technologies #Advanced Memory and Neural Computing #Distributed #FOS: Computer and information sciences #Parallel #Radiation Effects in Electronics #Security and Verification in Computing #and Cluster Computing (cs.DC)
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.1703.00626
openalex publication_date 2017/03/02 · openalex created_date 2022/10/01 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
As memory scales down to smaller technology nodes, new failure mechanisms\nemerge that threaten its correct operation. If such failure mechanisms are not\nanticipated and corrected, they can not only degrade system reliability and\navailability but also, perhaps even more importantly, open up security\nvulnerabilities: a malicious attacker can exploit the exposed failure mechanism\nto take over the entire system. As such, new failure mechanisms in memory can\nbecome practical and significant threats to system security.\n In this work, we discuss the RowHammer problem in DRAM, which is a prime (and\nperhaps the first) example of how a circuit-level failure mechanism in DRAM can\ncause a practical and widespread system security vulnerability. RowHammer, as\nit is popularly referred to, is the phenomenon that repeatedly accessing a row\nin a modern DRAM chip causes bit flips in physically-adjacent rows at\nconsistently predictable bit locations. It is caused by a hardware failure\nmechanism called DRAM disturbance errors, which is a manifestation of\ncircuit-level cell-to-cell interference in a scaled memory technology. We\nanalyze the root causes of the RowHammer problem and examine various solutions.\nWe also discuss what other vulnerabilities may be lurking in DRAM and other\ntypes of memories, e.g., NAND flash memory or Phase Change Memory, that can\npotentially threaten the foundations of secure systems, as the memory\ntechnologies scale to higher densities. We conclude by describing and\nadvocating a principled approach to memory reliability and security research\nthat can enable us to better anticipate and prevent such vulnerabilities.\n