CPU Vulnerable to Side-Channel Attacks

DATABASE HOME SEARCH REPORT A VULNERABILITY HELP Vulnerability Note VU#584653 CPU hardware vulnerable to side-channel attacks Original Release date: 03 Jan 2018 | Last revised: 03 Jan 2018 Print Tweet Send Share Overview CPU hardware implementations are vulnerable to side-channel attacks. These vulnerabilities are referred to as Meltdown and Spectre. Description CPU hardware implementations are vulnerable to side-channel attacks referred to as Meltdown and Spectre (also KAISER and KPTI). These attacks are described in detail by Google Project Zero and the Institute of Applied Information Processing and Communications (IAIK) at Graz University of Technology (TU Graz). Impact An attacker able to execute code with user privileges can achieve various impacts, such as reading otherwise protected kernel memory and bypassing KASLR. Solution KILL IT WITH FIRE Destroy CPU with a flamethrower or anything that makes something in excess of 1000 Degrees Fahrenheit.

A browser screenshot shows a CERT Vulnerability Note about CPU hardware being vulnerable to the Meltdown and Spectre side-channel attacks. The serious security advisory ends with the exaggerated solution “KILL IT WITH FIRE,” jokingly recommending a flamethrower to destroy the affected CPU. It is used as a reaction to a catastrophic software or hardware vulnerability that seems impossible to fix cleanly. EN: A browser screenshot shows a CERT Vulnerability Note about CPU hardware being vulnerable to the Meltdown and Spectre side-channel attacks. The serious security advisory ends with the exaggerated solution “KILL IT WITH FIRE,” jokingly recommending a flamethrower to destroy the affected CPU. It is used as a reaction to a catastrophic software or hardware vulnerability that seems impossible to fix cleanly.

• @infosecmemes / 34 2018-01-04