GhostWrite Strikes: Alibaba’s RISC-V Chips Exposed with Serious Security Flaws
Researchers at CISPA found serious flaws in T-Head Semiconductor’s RISC-V processors, dubbing the worst vulnerability “GhostWrite.” This flaw lets rogue applications write to memory and execute code with top-level privileges, essentially taking over the device. Disabling the faulty vector extension is the only fix, but it cripples performance.
Hot Take:
Who knew that a seemingly innocent semiconductor could turn into a silicon-based Frankenstein? T-Head’s C910 is practically auditioning for a role in the next cybersecurity horror flick. Move over, Spectre and Meltdown; GhostWrite is here to haunt your hardware dreams!
Key Points:
- GhostWrite vulnerability lets unprivileged users read/write physical memory and execute arbitrary code.
- The flaw affects T-Head C910 CPU cores, used in the TH1520 SoC.
- Mitigation involves disabling vector extensions, causing significant performance hits.
- CISPA Helmholtz researchers found other bugs in T-Head’s C906/C908 CPUs.
- Fixing these vulnerabilities is tough due to the hardware’s lack of microcode update capabilities.
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