# MIT researchers demonstrate interrupt-based bypass of processor defenses

_Published Thursday, August 27, 2026 at 1:07 PM EDT · Security · Latest · Tier 1 — Major_

![MIT researchers demonstrate interrupt-based bypass of processor defenses — Primary](https://news.mit.edu/sites/default/files/images/202608/mit-csail-TONTOU.jpg)

MIT CSAIL researchers reported a class of speculative-execution attacks called TONTOU that uses precisely timed interrupts to contaminate processor prediction machinery after it has been cleared. They tested four Intel and AMD processor generations and demonstrated a working exploit on an AMD system running a current Linux kernel. The exploit read protected memory at about five bytes per second and copied the root-password hash file in half of attempts. AMD released a mitigating patch.

## Sources

- [MIT News](https://news.mit.edu/2026/new-type-of-attack-can-slip-past-computer-processor-defenses-0827)

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Canonical: https://techandbusiness.org/newswire/S2-ssm3LfIMjw3CoZ6m12x
Published: 2026-08-27T17:07:36.853Z
Story chronology: 2026-08-27T15:40:00.000Z
Retrieved: 2026-10-12T01:17:00.917Z
Publisher: Tech & Business (techandbusiness.org)