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Kernel DMA Protection

  • Article
  • 8 minutes to read

Applies to

  • Windows 10
  • Windows 11

In Windows 10 version 1803, Microsoft introduced a new feature called Kernel DMA Protection to protect PCs against drive-by Direct Memory Access (DMA) attacks using PCI hot plug devices connected to externally accessible PCIe ports (for example, Thunderbolt™ 3 ports and CFexpress). In Windows 10 version 1903, Microsoft expanded the Kernel DMA Protection support to cover internal PCIe ports (for example, M.2 slots)

Drive-by DMA attacks can lead to disclosure of sensitive information residing on a PC, or even injection of malware that allows attackers to bypass the lock screen or control PCs remotely.

This feature doesn't protect against DMA attacks via 1394/FireWire, PCMCIA, CardBus, ExpressCard, and so on.

Background

PCI devices are DMA-capable, which allows them to read and write to system memory at will, without having to engage the system processor in these operations. The DMA capability is what makes PCI devices the highest performing devices available today. These devices have historically existed only inside the PC chassis, either connected as a card or soldered on the motherboard. Access to these devices required the user to turn off power to the system and disassemble the chassis.

Today, this is no longer the case with hot plug PCIe ports (for example, Thunderbolt™ and CFexpress).

Hot plug PCIe ports such as Thunderbolt™ technology have provided modern PCs with extensibility that wasn't available before for PCs. It allows users to attach new classes of external peripherals, such as graphics cards or other PCI devices, to their PCs with a hot plug experience identical to USB. Having PCI hot plug ports externally and easily accessible makes PCs susceptible to drive-by DMA attacks.

Drive-by DMA attacks are attacks that occur while the owner of the system is not present and usually take less than 10 minutes, with simple to moderate attacking tools (affordable, off-the-shelf hardware and software) that do not require the disassembly of the PC. A simple example would be a PC owner leaves the PC for a quick coffee break, and within the break, an attacker steps in, plugs in a USB-like device and walks away with all the secrets on the machine, or injects a malware that allows them to have full control over the PC remotely.

How Windows protects against DMA drive-by attacks

Windows leverages the system Input/Output Memory Management Unit (IOMMU) to block external peripherals from starting and performing DMA unless the drivers for these peripherals support memory isolation (such as DMA-remapping). Peripherals with DMA Remapping compatible drivers will be automatically enumerated, started, and allowed to perform DMA to their assigned memory regions.

By default, peripherals with DMA Remapping incompatible drivers will be blocked from starting and performing DMA until an authorized user signs into the system or unlocks the screen. IT administrators can modify the default behavior applied to devices with DMA Remapping incompatible drivers using the DmaGuard MDM policies.

User experience

Kernel DMA protection user experience

By default, peripherals with DMA remapping compatible device drivers will be automatically enumerated and started. Peripherals with DMA Remapping incompatible drivers will be blocked from starting if the peripheral was plugged in before an authorized user logs in, or while the screen is locked. Once the system is unlocked, the peripheral driver will be started by the OS, and the peripheral will continue to function normally until the system is rebooted, or the peripheral is unplugged. The peripheral will continue to function normally if the user locks the screen or logs out of the system.

System compatibility

Kernel DMA Protection requires new UEFI firmware support. This support is anticipated only on newly introduced, Intel-based systems shipping with Windows 10 version 1803 (not all systems). Virtualization-based Security (VBS) is not required.

To see if a system supports Kernel DMA Protection, check the System Information desktop app (MSINFO32). Systems released prior to Windows 10 version 1803 do not support Kernel DMA Protection, but they can leverage other DMA attack mitigations as described in BitLocker countermeasures.

Note

Kernel DMA Protection is not compatible with other BitLocker DMA attacks countermeasures. It is recommended to disable the BitLocker DMA attacks countermeasures if the system supports Kernel DMA Protection. Kernel DMA Protection provides higher security bar for the system over the BitLocker DMA attack countermeasures, while maintaining usability of external peripherals.

Note

DMA remapping support for graphics devices was added in Windows 11 with the WDDM 3.0 driver model; Windows 10 does not support this feature.

How to check if Kernel DMA Protection is enabled

Systems running Windows 10 version 1803 that do support Kernel DMA Protection do have this security feature enabled automatically by the OS with no user or IT admin configuration required.

Using the Windows Security app

Beginning with Windows 10 version 1809, you can use the Windows Security app to check if Kernel DMA Protection is enabled. Click Start > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Security > Open Windows Security > Device security > Core isolation details > Memory access protection.

Kernel DMA protection in Windows Security

Using System information

  1. Launch MSINFO32.exe in a command prompt, or in the Windows search bar.

  2. Check the value of Kernel DMA Protection.

    Kernel DMA protection in System Information.

  3. If the current state of Kernel DMA Protection is OFF and Hyper-V - Virtualization Enabled in Firmware is NO:

    • Reboot into BIOS settings
    • Turn on Intel Virtualization Technology.
    • Turn on Intel Virtualization Technology for I/O (VT-d). In Windows 10 version 1803, only Intel VT-d is supported. Other platforms can use DMA attack mitigations described in BitLocker countermeasures.
    • Reboot system into Windows.

    Note

    If the Hyper-V Windows feature is enabled, all the Hyper-V-related features will be hidden, and A hypervisor has been detected. Features required for Hyper-V will not be displayed entity will be shown at the bottom of the list. It means that Hyper-V - Virtualization Enabled in Firmware is set to YES.

    Note

    Enabling Hyper-V virtualization in Firmware (IOMMU) is required to enable Kernel DMA Protection, even when the firmware has the flag of "ACPI Kernel DMA Protection Indicators" described in Kernel DMA Protection (Memory Access Protection) for OEMs.

  4. If the state of Kernel DMA Protection remains Off, then the system does not support this feature.

    For systems that do not support Kernel DMA Protection, please refer to the BitLocker countermeasures or Thunderbolt™ 3 and Security on Microsoft Windows® 10 Operating system for other means of DMA protection.

Frequently asked questions

Do in-market systems support Kernel DMA Protection for Thunderbolt™ 3?

In-market systems, released with Windows 10 version 1709 or earlier, will not support Kernel DMA Protection for Thunderbolt™ 3 after upgrading to Windows 10 version 1803, as this feature requires the BIOS/platform firmware changes and guarantees that cannot be backported to previously released devices. For these systems, please refer to the BitLocker countermeasures or Thunderbolt™ 3 and Security on Microsoft Windows® 10 Operating system for other means of DMA protection.

Does Kernel DMA Protection prevent drive-by DMA attacks during Boot?

No, Kernel DMA Protection only protects against drive-by DMA attacks after the OS is loaded. It is the responsibility of the system firmware/BIOS to protect against attacks via the Thunderbolt™ 3 ports during boot.

How can I check if a certain driver supports DMA-remapping?

DMA-remapping is supported for specific device drivers, and is not universally supported by all devices and drivers on a platform. To check if a specific driver is opted into DMA-remapping, check the values corresponding to the DMA Remapping Policy property in the Details tab of a device in Device Manager*. A value of 0 or 1 means that the device driver does not support DMA-remapping. A value of two means that the device driver supports DMA-remapping. If the property is not available, then the policy is not set by the device driver (that is, the device driver does not support DMA-remapping). Check the driver instance for the device you are testing. Some drivers may have varying values depending on the location of the device (internal vs. external).

A user's experience about Kernel DMA protection

*For Windows 10 versions 1803 and 1809, the property field in Device Manager uses a GUID, as highlighted in the following image.

Experience of a user about Kernel DMA protection

When the drivers for PCI or Thunderbolt™ 3 peripherals do not support DMA-remapping?

If the peripherals do have class drivers provided by Windows, use these drivers on your systems. If there are no class drivers provided by Windows for your peripherals, contact your peripheral vendor/driver vendor to update the driver to support DMA Remapping.

My system's Kernel DMA Protection is off. Can DMA-remapping for a specific device be turned on?

Yes. DMA remapping for a specific device can be turned on independent from Kernel DMA Protection. For example, if the driver opts in and VT-d (Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O) is turned on, then DMA remapping will be enabled for the devices driver even if Kernel DMA Protection is turned off.

Kernel DMA Protection is a policy that allows or blocks devices to perform DMA, based on their remapping state and capabilities.

Do Microsoft drivers support DMA-remapping?

In Windows 10 1803 and beyond, the Microsoft inbox drivers for USB XHCI (3.x) Controllers, Storage AHCI/SATA Controllers, and Storage NVMe Controllers support DMA Remapping.

Do drivers for non-PCI devices need to be compatible with DMA-remapping?

No. Devices for non-PCI peripherals, such as USB devices, do not perform DMA, thus no need for the driver to be compatible with DMA Remapping.

How can an enterprise enable the External device enumeration policy?

The External device enumeration policy controls whether to enumerate external peripherals that are not compatible with DMA-remapping. Peripherals that are compatible with DMA-remapping are always enumerated. Peripherals that aren't, can be blocked, allowed, or allowed only after the user signs in (default).

The policy can be enabled by using:

  • Group Policy: Administrative Templates\System\Kernel DMA Protection\Enumeration policy for external devices incompatible with Kernel DMA Protection
  • Mobile Device Management (MDM): DmaGuard policies