The Memory Sinkhole - Unleashing An X86 Design Flaw Allowing Universal Privilege Escalation
Overview
Christopher Domas's Black Hat 2015 talk on a long-unnoticed x86 design flaw that lets an attacker reach System Management Mode, a ring below the OS. It explains how the legacy architecture allows universal privilege escalation and persistent, hard-to-detect malware.
On Hacker News
Cited in discussions of CPU hidden features, Intel's security failures and SMM malware as a concrete example of a forgotten processor feature being exploited.
Topics
Sources
Video by Black Hat, played through YouTube.
Data and selection notes
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