Graduation Year
2019
Document Type
Open Access Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
Computer Science
Reader 1
Eleanor Birrell
Reader 2
Christopher Towse
Terms of Use & License Information
Rights Information
2019 Rae Y Harris
Abstract
Modern processors use architecture like caches, branch predictors, and speculative execution in order to maximize computation throughput. For instance, recently accessed memory can be stored in a cache so that subsequent accesses take less time. Unfortunately microarchitecture-based side channel attacks can utilize this cache property to enable unauthorized memory accesses. The Spectre attack is a recent example of this attack.
The Spectre attack is particularly dangerous because the vulnerabilities that it exploits are found in microprocessors used in billions of current systems. It involves the attacker inducing a victim’s process to speculatively execute code with a malicious input and store the recently accessed memory into the cache.
This paper describes the previous microarchitecture side channel attacks. It then describes the three variants of the Spectre attack. It describes and evaluates proposed defenses against Spectre.
Recommended Citation
Harris, Rae, "Spectre: Attack and Defense" (2019). Scripps Senior Theses. 1384.
https://scholarship.claremont.edu/scripps_theses/1384
