Selective RAM Data Movement to Limit RowHammer Charge Leakage

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Random-access memory (RAM) is susceptible to induced charge leakage, which can cause data corruption and security issues due to RowHammer attacks, particularly in denser memory configurations where capacitors are closer together, making them more vulnerable to electromagnetic disturbances.

Innovation Solution

Implementing a probabilistic mechanism to identify potential aggressor rows in RAM and moving their contents to other locations, using software-based data movement to mitigate charge leakage without requiring hardware upgrades, thereby reducing the risk of RowHammer attacks.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Quantity of substance

If RAM density is increased to improve storage capacity, then storage capacity is improved, but susceptibility to induced charge leakage increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvestorage capacityVSAvoidsusceptibility to induced charge leakage

Core Design Contradiction:

Quantity of substanceVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts the problematic aggressor row data from its original location and moves it to a different memory region, separating it from victim rows to eliminate the harmful electromagnetic interference while preserving the storage capacity

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces a memory management mechanism that acts as an intermediary, monitoring access patterns and facilitating data movement between memory regions to prevent charge leakage attacks

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Reliability

If software-based data movement is implemented to protect against RowHammer attacks, then security is improved, but processing overhead increases

Engineering Contradiction:

ImprovesecurityVSAvoidprocessing overhead

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent performs data movement operations in advance or proactively based on access pattern analysis, preparing memory configurations before attacks can occur, thereby reducing the need for complex real-time response mechanisms

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system monitors its own access patterns and automatically identifies and relocates aggressor rows without requiring external intervention or complex hardware security modules

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Data Source

PatentUS12450175B2Prevention of RAM access pattern attacks via selective data movement

Publication Date: 2025.10.21 MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING LLC

AI summary

Aspects of the present disclosure relate to techniques for minimizing the effects of RowHammer and induced charge leakage. In examples, systems and methods for preventing access pattern attacks in random-access memory (RAM) are provided. In aspects, a data request associated with a page table may be determined to be a potential security risk and such potential security risk may be mitigated by randomly selecting a memory region from a subset of memory regions, copying data stored in a memory region associated with a page table entry in the page table to the second memory region, disassociating the second memory region from the subset of memory regions and associating the memory region associated with the page table to the second memory region, and updating the page table entry in the page table to refer to the second memory region.