A Deeper Look into RowHammer’s Sensitivities: Experimental Analysis of Real DRAM Chips and Implications on Future Attacks and Defenses
Lois Orosa, A. Giray Yağlıkçı, Haocong Luo, Ataberk Olgun, Jisung Park, Hasan Hassan, Minesh Patel, Jeremie S. Kim, Onur Mutlu
Abstract
RowHammer is a circuit-level DRAM vulnerability where repeatedly accessing (i.e., hammering) a DRAM row can cause bit flips in physically nearby rows. The RowHammer vulnerability worsens as DRAM cell size and cell-to-cell spacing shrink. Recent studies demonstrate that modern DRAM chips, including chips previously marketed as RowHammer-safe, are even more vulnerable to RowHammer than older chips such that the required hammer count to cause a bit flip has reduced by more than 10X in the last decade. Therefore, it is essential to develop a better understanding and in-depth insights into the RowHammer vulnerability of modern DRAM chips to more effectively secure current and future systems.