Local privilege escalation via synchronized Rowhammer patterns
Published Sep 15, 2025 · Updated Sep 15, 2025
Rowhammer in SK hynix DDR5 DRAM DIMMs produced from 2021-1 through 2024-12 allows local users to gain elevated privileges on x86 systems. Blind spots in the in-DRAM Target Row Refresh sampling schedule let self-correcting patterns remain aligned across refresh intervals and induce bit flips. Low-privileged code with sustained memory access can corrupt page-table entries and obtain root privileges on tested AMD Zen 4 configurations.
Summary
What happened
Rowhammer in SK hynix DDR5 DRAM DIMMs produced from 2021-1 through 2024-12 allows local users to gain elevated privileges on x86 systems. Blind spots in the in-DRAM Target Row Refresh sampling schedule let self-correcting patterns remain aligned across refresh intervals and induce bit flips. Low-privileged code with sustained memory access can corrupt page-table entries and obtain root privileges on tested AMD Zen 4 configurations.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2025-6202
- Published
- Sep 15, 2025
- Updated
- Sep 15, 2025
- Vendor
- SK hynix
- Product
- DDR5 DRAM
- Classifications
- T1068
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- authenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Sep 15, 2025CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Sep 15, 2025Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
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Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=DIMMs produced from 2021-1 until 2024-12
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.
Attacks
What attackers are doing with it
Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
- Phoenix PTE privilege-escalation exploitfunctional · demonstrated
- Phoenix bit-flip proof of conceptproof of concept · demonstrated
Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.
Technologies
Your stack
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Your stack
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