New Rowhammer Attacks Achieve Full System Compromise via Nvidia GPUs

Two independent research teams have demonstrated novel Rowhammer attacks against Nvidia GPUs that can grant attackers full root control of host machines.

The Attacks: GDDRHammer and GeForge

Both attacks target GDDR DRAM on Nvidia's Ampere-generation GPU cards. Unlike last year's proof-of-concept that achieved only 8 bitflips, these new techniques leverage GPU memory bit flips to gain arbitrary read/write access to all CPU memory, resulting in complete system compromise.

Critical Condition: IOMMU Must Be Disabled

The attacks require IOMMU to be disabled — which is the default BIOS setting on most systems. With GPUs costing $8,000+ frequently shared among users in cloud environments, this represents a serious security risk.

Rowhammer's Evolution

• 2014: Initial DDR3 bit flip demonstration
• 2015: Targeted attacks for privilege escalation
• 2025: First GPU Rowhammer proof-of-concept
• 2026: Full system compromise via GPU Rowhammer

Recommendations

1. Enable IOMMU in BIOS/UEFI settings immediately
2. Monitor for unusual GPU memory access patterns
3. Cloud providers should consider isolating GPU tenants at the hardware level