linux-kernel - Re: rowhammer protection [was Re: Getting interrupt every million cache misses]

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Date:   Fri, 28 Oct 2016 11:35:47 +0200
From:   Ingo Molnar <mingo@...nel.org>
To:     Vegard Nossum <vegard.nossum@...il.com>
Cc:     Peter Zijlstra <peterz@...radead.org>, Pavel Machek <pavel@....cz>,
        Kees Cook <keescook@...omium.org>,
        Arnaldo Carvalho de Melo <acme@...hat.com>,
        kernel list <linux-kernel@...r.kernel.org>,
        Ingo Molnar <mingo@...hat.com>,
        Alexander Shishkin <alexander.shishkin@...ux.intel.com>,
        "kernel-hardening@...ts.openwall.com" 
        <kernel-hardening@...ts.openwall.com>
Subject: Re: rowhammer protection [was Re: Getting interrupt every million
 cache misses]


* Vegard Nossum <vegard.nossum@...il.com> wrote:

> Would it make sense to sample the counter on context switch, do some
> accounting on a per-task cache miss counter, and slow down just the
> single task(s) with a too high cache miss rate? That way there's no
> global slowdown (which I assume would be the case here). The task's
> slice of CPU would have to be taken into account because otherwise you
> could have multiple cooperating tasks that each escape the limit but
> taken together go above it.

Attackers could work this around by splitting the rowhammer workload between 
multiple threads/processes.

I.e. the problem is that the risk may come from any 'unprivileged user-space 
code', where the rowhammer workload might be spread over multiple threads, 
processes or even users.

Thanks,

	Ingo