Skip site navigation (1)Skip section navigation (2)
Date:      Fri, 05 Jan 2018 12:17:50 -0800
From:      "Ronald F. Guilmette" <rfg@tristatelogic.com>
To:        Freebsd Security <freebsd-security@freebsd.org>
Subject:   Re: Intel hardware bug
Message-ID:  <5241.1515183470@segfault.tristatelogic.com>
In-Reply-To: <SN1PR0501MB2125B36067CD93A5B95AC74DCE1C0@SN1PR0501MB2125.namprd05.prod.outlook.com>

next in thread | previous in thread | raw e-mail | index | archive | help

In message <SN1PR0501MB2125B36067CD93A5B95AC74DCE1C0@SN1PR0501MB2125.namprd05.prod.out
look.com>, Andrew Duane <aduane@juniper.net> wrote:

>I wouldn't think Javascript would have the accurate timing required to leve=
>rage this attack, but I don't really know enough about the language.

This brings up something I have been wondering about, although my guess is
that much greater minds than mine have already considered this possible
mitigation...

If the meltdown or spectre (or both) attacks are based on careful analysis
of timing information, following a memory fault, then why just just introduce
a very tiny delay, of randomized duration, in the relevant kernel fault handler,
following each such fault?

(Since nothing I've read is talking about this, I am guessing that this would
be an even bigger loser, performance-wise, than the mitigations that have been
developed so far.)


Regards,
rfg



Want to link to this message? Use this URL: <https://mail-archive.FreeBSD.org/cgi/mid.cgi?5241.1515183470>