New Title: Security Vulnerability Uncovered for Intel Alder Lake & Raptor Lake CPUs

Tech & AI | July 3, 2024, 2:24 p.m.

Researchers at UC San Diego have unveiled a new high-precision Branch Target Injection (BTI) attack called "Indirector" targeting Intel's recent Alder Lake and Raptor Lake processors. The attack exploits vulnerabilities in the Indirect Branch Predictor (IBP) and Branch Target Buffer (BTB), providing detailed insights into their structures and functions. This research also sheds light on potential weaknesses in Intel's hardware defenses, such as IBPB, IBRS, and STIBP. By reverse engineering Intel's processors, the study develops sophisticated BTI attacks capable of breaching security boundaries, including cross-process and cross-privilege scenarios. The attack leverages the IBP and BTB to bypass Address Space Layout Randomization (ASLR) protections. While UCSD researchers recommend using IBPB more aggressively and improving BPU design to mitigate Indirector, Intel believes their current mitigations for Spectre-style attacks are sufficient. The research findings are available on the Indirector website and GitHub repository.