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Battering RAM Attack Bypasses Intel and AMD Cloud Security Protections

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1 unique sources, 1 articles

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A group of academics from KU Leuven and the University of Birmingham have demonstrated a new vulnerability called Battering RAM. This vulnerability bypasses the latest defenses on Intel and AMD cloud processors, compromising Intel's Software Guard Extensions (SGX) and AMD's Secure Encrypted Virtualization with Secure Nested Paging (SEV-SNP). The attack leverages a custom-built, low-cost DDR4 interposer hardware hack to stealthily redirect physical addresses and gain unauthorized access to protected memory regions. The vulnerability affects systems using DDR4 memory, particularly those relying on confidential computing workloads in public cloud environments. Successful exploitation can allow a rogue cloud infrastructure provider or insider with limited physical access to compromise remote attestation and enable the insertion of arbitrary backdoors into protected workloads. The vulnerability was reported to the vendors earlier this year, but defending against Battering RAM would require a fundamental redesign of memory encryption itself.

Timeline

  1. 30.09.2025 21:42 1 articles · 5h ago

    Battering RAM Attack Bypasses Intel and AMD Cloud Security Protections

    A group of academics from KU Leuven and the University of Birmingham demonstrated a new vulnerability called Battering RAM. This vulnerability bypasses the latest defenses on Intel and AMD cloud processors, compromising Intel's Software Guard Extensions (SGX) and AMD's Secure Encrypted Virtualization with Secure Nested Paging (SEV-SNP). The attack leverages a custom-built, low-cost DDR4 interposer hardware hack to stealthily redirect physical addresses and gain unauthorized access to protected memory regions. The vulnerability affects systems using DDR4 memory, particularly those relying on confidential computing workloads in public cloud environments. Successful exploitation can allow a rogue cloud infrastructure provider or insider with limited physical access to compromise remote attestation and enable the insertion of arbitrary backdoors into protected workloads. The vulnerability was reported to the vendors earlier this year, but defending against Battering RAM would require a fundamental redesign of memory encryption itself.

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