Hypervisor Security and Vulnerabilities

  1. Side-Channel Attacks in Virtualized Environments
    1. Principles of Side-Channel Analysis
      1. Exploiting Physical Implementation Leakage
        1. Timing Information
          1. Power Consumption
            1. Electromagnetic Emissions
            2. Covert Channels vs Side Channels
              1. Definitions and Differences
                1. Examples in Virtualized Contexts
              2. Types of Side-Channel Attacks
                1. Cache-based Attacks
                  1. Flush+Reload
                    1. Attack Methodology
                      1. Prerequisites and Limitations
                      2. Evict+Time
                        1. Attack Methodology
                          1. Detection and Mitigation
                          2. Prime+Probe
                            1. Attack Methodology
                              1. Impact on Multi-Tenant Environments
                            2. Timing Attacks
                              1. Exploiting Execution Time Variations
                                1. Attacks on Cryptographic Operations
                                2. Power Monitoring Attacks
                                  1. Power Analysis Techniques
                                    1. Feasibility in Virtualized Environments
                                    2. Electromagnetic Attacks
                                      1. EM Emanation Capture
                                        1. Practical Challenges in Data Centers
                                      2. Transient Execution Attacks
                                        1. Spectre Variants
                                          1. Branch Prediction Exploitation
                                            1. Bypassing Isolation Mechanisms
                                            2. Meltdown Variants
                                              1. Out-of-Order Execution Exploitation
                                                1. Kernel Memory Disclosure
                                                2. L1 Terminal Fault
                                                  1. L1 Cache Vulnerabilities
                                                    1. Impact on Virtualized Workloads
                                                    2. Foreshadow
                                                      1. SGX Enclave Attacks
                                                        1. VM Memory Disclosure
                                                      2. Impact of Side-Channel Attacks
                                                        1. Cryptographic Key Extraction
                                                          1. Attacks on VM-Resident Keys
                                                            1. Impact on Encrypted Communications
                                                            2. Sensitive Data Leakage from Other VMs
                                                              1. Cross-VM Data Exfiltration
                                                                1. Privacy and Compliance Implications

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                                                            3. Major Hypervisor Vulnerabilities and Exploitation Techniques

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                                                            5. Hypervisor Security Hardening and Mitigation Strategies