What role does the branch predictor play in CPU timing attacks, and how can attackers manipulate it to leak sensitive information?
The branch predictor is a critical component of modern CPU architectures designed to enhance performance by speculating the direction of branch instructions (e.g., if-else statements) before they are resolved. This speculation allows the CPU to prefetch and execute instructions along the predicted path, thereby reducing the perceived latency and improving overall throughput. However, this performance
Describe a real-world example of a browser attack that resulted from an accidental vulnerability.
A real-world example of a browser attack resulting from an accidental vulnerability can be seen in the case of the "Spectre" vulnerability, which affected modern microprocessors. This vulnerability exploited a design flaw in the architecture of processors, including those found in web browsers, allowing attackers to steal sensitive information from the memory of other processes