Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Cybersecurity
    • Cybersecurity

    TLBleed Side-Channel CPU Attack Detailed at Black Hat

    By
    Sean Michael Kerner
    -
    August 10, 2018
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      eWEEK content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.

      LAS VEGAS—This has been a busy year for researchers disclosing new attacks against Intel chips. On Aug.10 at Black Hat USA here, security researcher Ben Gras from VU University detailed the TLBleed side-channel attack that potentially exposes Intel CPUs to risk.

      The initial research on TLBleed was disclosed on June 22, and Gras provided full details in his Black Hat session. The attack abuses the Translation Lookaside Buffer (TLB) capability in modern CPUs that provides a memory cache used to help accelerate performance. According to Gras, the attack works on Intel CPUs with hyperthreading enabled.

      “With TLBleed we show that even with cache protections in place, we can still leak secrets from a cached process,” Gras said in a press conference at Black Hat following his session.

      With TLB, is it possible for multiple process threads to have concurrent access. As such, with the TLBleed attack, Gras found a weakness that might enable an attacker to gain access to the shared memory as well as access to information on another process, bypassing existing cache protection features. Gras said Intel has downplayed the security flaw, telling him that there is already guidance for developers on how to secure TLB, by writing the correct cryptographic algorithms that don’t leave data traces in cache.

      In response to a question from eWEEK, Gras noted that the attack is unrelated to the Meltdown and Spectre CPU vulnerabilities that were disclosed on Jan. 3.

      “Spectre and Meltdown rely on CPU artifacts like out-of-order execution and speculative execution,” he said. “TLBleed observes shared caches.”

      While TLBleed is different, it is still a form of side-channel attack, which has been area of active interest for VU University and other researchers throughout 2018. Gras said he expects there to be continuing disclosures in 2018 and beyond about more side-channel and Spectre variant attacks. 

      “I see this [Spectre] as being like the first buffer overflow, which has been around since the 1990s, but even today we still find new buffer overflow flaws,” he said.  

      Watch the full video with VU University Security Researcher Ben Gras above.

      Sean Michael Kerner is a senior editor at eWEEK and InternetNews.com. Follow him on Twitter @TechJournalist.

      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Applications

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      Read more
      Applications

      Kyndryl’s Nicolas Sekkaki on Handling AI and...

      James Maguire - November 9, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nicolas Sekkaki, Group Practice Leader for Applications, Data and AI at Kyndryl, about how companies can boost both their AI and...
      Read more
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2022 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×