In one of more impressive hacks in recent memory, researchers have devised an attack that exploits physical weaknesses in certain types of DDR memory chips to elevate the system rights of untrusted users of Intel-compatible PCs running Linux.
The technique, outlined in a blog post published Monday by Google's Project Zero security initiative, works by reversing individual bits of data stored in DDR3 chip modules known as DIMMs. Last year, scientists proved that such "bit flipping" could be accomplished by repeatedly accessing small regions of memory, a feat that