FlippyRAM

We developed a new framework to check if your system is vulnerable to Rowhammer, incorporating the state-of-the-art Rowhammer techniques and tools. Thus, we invite everyone to participate in this unique opportunity to join forces and close this research gap together. We address the following questions:

• What is the real-world prevalence of the Rowhammer effect?
• How many systems, in their current configurations, are vulnerable to Rowhammer?

As large-scale studies with hundreds to thousands of systems are not easy to perform, such a study has not yet been performed.

The source code of the server we used to collect the data is in the GitHub Repository (FlippyRAM-Server).

How to Run FlippyRAM

There are two easy ways to run the tool:

1. Use the ISO image (USB Device Required)
2. Use the Docker container

Steps to Run FlippyRAM Using the ISO image

HammerISO is an ISO image that can be used for automated Rowhammer testing of different systems. In the end of the experiment, a brief overview of the number of bit flips found by different tools is shown.

1. Download the ISO Image

• The FlippyRAM project provides an ISO image, HammerISO, for automated Rowhammer testing.
• Download the latest version of the ISO from flippyr.am.

Alternative: Build the ISO Image (Optional)

If you'd like to build the ISO image yourself:

• Ensure you are running ArchLinux.
• Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/iisys-sns/FlippyRAM.git
cd FlippyRAM

• Build the ISO image using:

make

The resulting file, hammeriso.iso, will be available in the project directory.

Note: Since the ISO building process is based on ArchISO, this requires ArchLinux in order to build the ISO image.

2. Flash the ISO Image

• Connect the USB drive(s) to your system.
• Flash the ISO image to all drives of a specific size using the command:

sudo sh utilities/flash.sh <device-size> <path/to/ISO/image.iso>

• Example: To flash all USB devices of size 57.8G, run:

sudo sh utilities/flash.sh 57.8G hammeriso.iso

BEWARE: THIS WILL OVERWRITE ALL DEVICES OF THAT SIZE!

When it is required to flash the image to multiple thumb drives, they can be connected to the system at the same time. Afterwards, the image will be flashed to all to them.

The parameter <device-size> specifies the storage size of the thumb drive. Be aware, this step will flash the image to ALL CONNECTED USB DEVICE THAT HAVE THE SPECIFIED SIZE, so be sure to not have other USB devices with the same size connected to the system.

The parameter <path/to/ISO/image.iso> specifies the path to the ISO image.

3. Turn Off Secure Boot

• Restart your computer and access the BIOS/UEFI settings. This is usually done by pressing a specific key during boot, such as F2, F10, F12, or Del
• Navigate to the Secure Boot settings. Look for options like "Boot" or "Security" in the BIOS/UEFI menu. The location of Secure Boot settings varies depending on the system manufacturer.
• Disable Secure Boot. Find the Secure Boot option and set it to Disabled. Some systems may require you to set an Administrator Password in the BIOS/UEFI before you can change this setting.
• Save changes and exit.

4. Run the Experiment

• Boot your target system using the USB drive with the flashed HammerISO.
• The ISO will automatically performs Rowhammer experiment and displays an overview of the results, including the number of bit flips detected.

5. The Results

• Logs/Results are stored and compressed in a ZIP file on a separate partition of the USB drive where you can easily access anytime.
• Multiple tests/boots will NOT erase previous results.

6. Upload Results (Optional)

• After completing the experiment, the setup will prompt you to upload the results to our server (Optional).
• Uploading helps contribute to the large-scale study at flippyr.am.

Steps to Run FlippyRAM Using the Docker file

FlippyRAM provides a Docker file for easy and consistent deployment across different systems. The Docker container simplifies the setup process by packaging all required dependencies and tools. This approach allows you to run automated Rowhammer testing without worrying about system-specific configurations.

1. Install Docker Engine

You can find the instructions on how to install docker on your operating system here: docker.com

2. Run the Experiment

• Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/iisys-sns/FlippyRAM.git
cd FlippyRAM/ARHE

• Run the Docker file using:

sudo bash docker-run.sh

3. The Results

• Logs/Results are stored and compressed in a ZIP file in this path: FlippyRAM/ARHE/data
• Multiple tests will NOT erase previous results.

4. Upload Results (Optional)

• After completing the experiment, the setup will prompt you to upload the results to our server (Optional).
• Uploading helps contribute to the large-scale study at flippyr.am.

Additional Information

Privacy

Review our privacy policy here: Privacy Statement

Developer Documentation

If you’re a developer or researcher interested in contributing to FlippyRAM, refer to the Developer Documentation for implementation details.

Citing our Work

To cite the FlippyRAM paper, please use the following BibTeX entry:

@inproceedings{Heckel2026FlippyRAM,
  title     = {{FlippyRAM: A Large-Scale Study of Rowhammer Prevalence}},
  author    = {Heckel, Martin and Sayadi, Nima and Juffinger, Jonas and Fiedler, Carina and Gruss, Daniel and Adamsky, Florian},
  booktitle = {NDSS},
  date      = {2026},
}

To cite the FlippyRAM software, please use the following BibTeX entry:

@misc{Heckel2026FlippyRAMSoftware,
  title  = {{FlippyRAM: A Large-Scale Study of Rowhammer Prevalence}},
  author = {Heckel, Martin and Sayadi, Nima and Juffinger, Jonas and Fiedler, Carina and Gruss, Daniel and Adamsky, Florian},
  date   = {2026},
  url    = {https://github.com/iisys-sns/FlippyRAM}
}