RowPress Vulnerability in Modern DRAM Chips
Haocong Luo, Ataberk Olgun, A. Giray Yağlıkçı, Yahya Can Tuğrul, Steve Rhyner, Meryem Banu Cavlak, Joël Lindegger, Mohammad Sadrosadati, Onur Mutlu · IEEE Micro · 2024
Memory isolation is a critical property for system reliability, security, and safety. We demonstrate RowPress, a dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) read disturbance phenomenon different from the well-known RowHammer. RowPress induces bitflips by keeping a DRAM row open for a long period of time instead of repeatedly opening and closing the row. We experimentally characterize RowPress bitflips, showing their widespread existence in commodity off-the-shelf DDR4 DRAM chips. We demonstrate RowPress bitflips in a real system that already has RowHammer protection, and propose effective mitigation techniques that protect DRAM against both RowHammer and RowPress.