Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) have outlined a PACMAN attack scenario that is possible thanks to a hardware vulnerability in Apple's M1 series processors

Such an attack is performed using a combination of hardware and software and can be performed remotely.

If successfully implemented, PACMAN allows an attacker to gain access to the OS kernel and gives full control over the attacked device, the researchers claim.

This vulnerability in the processor cannot be fixed by software means.

Arm chips from other vendors, including Qualcomm and Samsung, could also be vulnerable if they use pointer authentication, the researchers said. However, so far they have only worked out an attack scenario for the Apple M1.