McSee - Evaluating Advanced Rowhammer Attacks and Defenses via Automated DRAM Traffic Analysis

Explore advanced Rowhammer attacks and defenses through automated DRAM traffic analysis in this 10-minute conference presentation from USENIX Security '25. Learn about McSee, an innovative automated software platform built on high-frequency oscilloscope technology that captures and decodes DDR4 and DDR5 memory controller behavior during Rowhammer attacks. Discover key findings including how hammering multiple banks in parallel can actually reduce attack effectiveness, the shorter-than-expected duration that rows remain active during Rowpress attacks, and the failure of Intel and AMD CPUs to send required Refresh Management (RFM) commands despite one-third of tested DDR5 devices requiring RFM for proper Rowhammer mitigation. Examine Intel's alternative approach using additional mitigative activations instead of RFM commands, and understand the implications of these discoveries for the evolving landscape of memory security attacks and defenses. Gain insights into cutting-edge research methodologies for analyzing DRAM bus traffic and evaluating the effectiveness of both offensive and defensive memory security techniques.