Covert Channel Vulnerability in FreeBSD Affected by Hyper-Threading Technology

CVE-2005-0109

What is CVE-2005-0109?

This vulnerability arises from the implementation of Hyper-Threading technology in FreeBSD, among other operating systems. It permits local users to deploy malicious threads capable of creating covert channels that monitor the execution of other threads. By exploiting timing variations during memory cache misses, an attacker can infer sensitive information, such as cryptographic keys, thus posing serious risks to data confidentiality. This highlights the need for heightened security measures in systems utilizing Hyper-Threading.

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