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CWE-1190

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CWE-1190

DMA Device Enabled Too Early in Boot Phase

Base
Draft

Description

The product enables a Direct Memory Access (DMA) capable device before the security configuration settings are established, which allows an attacker to extract data from or gain privileges on the product.

{"xhtml:p":["DMA is included in a number of devices because it allows\n data transfer between the computer and the connected device, using\n direct hardware access to read or write directly to main memory\n without any OS interaction. An attacker could exploit this to\n access secrets. Several virtualization-based mitigations have been introduced to thwart DMA attacks. These are usually\n configured/setup during boot time. However, certain IPs that are\n powered up before boot is complete (known as early boot IPs) may\n be DMA capable. Such IPs, if not trusted, could launch DMA\n attacks and gain access to assets that should otherwise be\n protected."]}

Parent Weaknesses (ChildOf)

Common Consequences

Scope

Access Control

Impact

Bypass Protection Mechanism, Modify Memory

Potential Mitigations

Architecture and Design

Utilize an IOMMU to orchestrate IO access from the start of the boot process.

Applicable Platforms

Not Language-Specific

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