New GPUThor Rowhammer Defeats ECC on NVIDIA RTX A6000 to Gain Host Root Access
Summary
Academic researchers have revealed a new Rowhammer attack, named GPUThor, that targets NVIDIA workstation GPUs with GDDR6 memory. This attack successfully bypasses Error Correction Codes (ECC), a primary defense against GPU Rowhammer, and can lead to denial-of-service and root access on the host system.
IFF Assessment
FOE
This attack allows malicious actors to gain root access, a significant win for attackers and a direct threat to system security.
Defender Context
This discovery highlights a critical vulnerability in NVIDIA workstation GPUs that bypasses standard ECC protections, posing a significant risk for systems relying on this hardware. Defenders need to be aware of this Rowhammer variant and monitor for any vendor advisories or patches from NVIDIA.