In a recent study by researchers from Georgia Institute of Technology and Purdue University, a significant vulnerability was discovered in Intel’s Software Guard eXtensions (SGX) that allows attackers to circumvent security measures on DDR4 systems and decrypt sensitive data passively. SGX is intended to provide a Trusted Execution Environment (TEE) that isolates trusted code within enclaves, preventing unauthorized access, even if the operating system is compromised. However, the research highlights serious shortcomings in this protection model.
The researchers built a device capable of monitoring memory traffic inside a computer using basic equipment available online. By utilizing an interposer placed between the CPU and memory, they showed how it could exploit SGX’s mechanisms to extract a secret attestation key, effectively bypassing its security measures. This technique, dubbed "WireTap," poses a threat similar to the previously disclosed Battering RAM attack, with both methods focusing on exploiting deterministic encryption.
WireTap specifically targets Intel’s Quoting Enclave (QE), allowing attackers to recover an ECDSA signing key. This means that hackers could appear as trusted SGX hardware while executing code with unsecured access, undermining the integrity of SGX environments.
While Battering RAM requires less than $50 in equipment to execute, the WireTap setup costs around $1,000, including necessary devices like logic analyzers. A potential application of this attack is against SGX-backed blockchain systems, where it can compromise both confidentiality and integrity, leading to unauthorized disclosures or illegitimate rewards.
Intel recognized the exploit as outside the realm of its threat model, as it involves a physical adversary with direct access to the hardware. The company urges that secure environments should be maintained to mitigate such attacks, as the current AES-XTS memory encryption provides limited confidentiality and no integrity protections against physically capable attackers. Intel, however, does not plan to issue a CVE for this vulnerability, as it falls outside their defined security boundaries.
This finding underscores a critical need for improved protections and awareness of potential vulnerabilities in systems utilizing SGX and similar technologies.
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