Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090282474 | METHOD FOR SAFELY EXECUTING AN UNTRUSTED NATIVE CODE MODULE ON A COMPUTING DEVICE - A system that safely executes a native code module on a computing device. During operation, the system receives the native code module, which is comprised of untrusted native program code expressed using native instructions in the instruction set architecture associated with the computing device. The system then loads the native code module into a secure runtime environment, and proceeds to execute a set of instructions from the native code module in the secure runtime environment. The secure runtime environment enforces code integrity, control-flow integrity, and data integrity for the native code module. Furthermore, the secure runtime environment moderates which resources can be accessed by the native code module on the computing device and/or how these resources can be accessed. By executing the native code module in the secure runtime environment, the system facilitates achieving native code performance for untrusted program code without a significant risk of unwanted side effects. | 11-12-2009 |
20090282477 | METHOD FOR VALIDATING AN UNTRUSTED NATIVE CODE MODULE - A system that validates a native code module. During operation, the system receives a native code module comprised of untrusted native program code. The system validates the native code module by: (1) determining that code in the native code module does not include any restricted instructions and/or does not access restricted features of a computing device; and (2) determining that the instructions in the native code module are aligned along byte boundaries such that a specified set of byte boundaries always contain a valid instruction and control flow instructions have valid targets. The system allows successfully-validated native code modules to execute, and rejects native code modules that fail validation. By validating the native code module, the system facilitates safely executing the native code module in the secure runtime environment on the computing device, thereby achieving native code performance for untrusted program binaries without significant risk of unwanted side effects. | 11-12-2009 |
20100017461 | METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR EXECUTING APPLICATIONS USING NATIVE CODE MODULES - Some embodiments provide a system that executes a web application. During operation, the system loads the web application in a web browser and loads a native code module associated with the web application into a secure runtime environment. Next, the system provides input data associated with the web application to the native code module and processes the input data using the native code module to obtain output data. Finally, the system provides the output data to the web application for use by the web application. | 01-21-2010 |
20110029820 | NATIVE CODE MODULE SECURITY FOR 64-BIT INSTRUCTION SET ARCHITECTURES - Some embodiments provide a system that executes a native code module. During operation, the system obtains the native code module. Next, the system loads the native code module into a secure runtime environment. Finally, the system safely executes the native code module in the secure runtime environment by using a set of software fault isolation (SFI) mechanisms that maintain control flow integrity for the native code module and constrain store instructions in the native code module by bounding a valid memory region of the native code module with one or more guard regions. | 02-03-2011 |
20110029961 | NATIVE CODE MODULE SECURITY FOR ARM INSTRUCTION SET ARCHITECTURES - Some embodiments provide a system that executes a native code module. During operation, the system obtains the native code module. Next, the system loads the native code module into a secure runtime environment. Finally, the system safely executes the native code module in the secure runtime environment by using a set of software fault isolation (SFI) mechanisms that constrain store instructions in the native code module. The SFI mechanisms also maintain control flow integrity for the native code module by dividing a code region associated with the native code module into equally sized code blocks and data blocks and starting each of the data blocks with an illegal instruction. | 02-03-2011 |
20110138473 | DYNAMIC CODE INSERTION AND REMOVAL FOR STATIC ANALYSIS BASED SANDBOXES - Methods and apparatus for dynamically adding and deleting new code to previously validated application executing in a secured runtime. New code is written to a portion of secured memory not executable by application. New code is validated to ensure it cannot directly call operating system, address memory outside of secured memory, or modify secured memory state. Indirect branch instructions may only target addresses aligned on fixed size boundaries within the secured memory. Validated code is copied to portion of secured memory executable by application in two stage process that ensures partially copied segments cannot be executed. Validated new code can be deleted once all threads reach safe execution point, provided code was previously inserted as unit or contains no internal targets that can be called by code not also being deleted. | 06-09-2011 |
20110138474 | DYNAMIC CODE INSERTION AND REMOVAL FOR STATIC ANALYSIS BASED SANDBOXES - Methods and apparatus for dynamically adding and deleting new code to previously validated application executing in a secured runtime. New code is written to a portion of secured memory not executable by application. New code is validated to ensure it cannot directly call operating system, address memory outside of secured memory, or modify secured memory state. Indirect branch instructions may only target addresses aligned on fixed size boundaries within the secured memory. Validated code is copied to portion of secured memory executable by application in two stage process that ensures partially copied segments cannot be executed. Validated new code can be deleted once all threads reach safe execution point, provided code was previously inserted as unit or contains no internal targets that can be called by code not also being deleted. | 06-09-2011 |
20120042145 | USER-LEVEL SECMENTATION MECHANISM THAT FACILITATES SAFELY EXECUTING UNTRUSTED NATIVE CODE - A system that uses segmentation to safely execute native code. This system includes a processing element that executes the native code and a memory which stores code and data for the processing element. The processing element includes a segmentation mechanism which limits the native code executing on the processing element to accessing a specified segment of memory. The processing element also includes an instruction-processing unit, which is configured to execute a user-level instruction that causes the segmentation mechanism to limit memory accesses by the native code to the specified segment of the memory. | 02-16-2012 |
20130185787 | Safely Executing an Untrusted Native Code Module on a Computing Device - A system that safely executes a native code module on a computing device. During operation, the system receives the native code module, which is comprised of untrusted native program code expressed using native instructions in the instruction set architecture associated with the computing device. The system then loads the native code module into a secure runtime environment, and proceeds to execute a set of instructions from the native code module in the secure runtime environment. The secure runtime environment enforces code integrity, control flow integrity, and data integrity for the native code module. Furthermore, the secure runtime environment moderates which resources can be accessed by the native code module on the computing device and/or how these resources can be accessed. By executing the native code module in the secure runtime environment, the system facilitates achieving native code performance for untrusted program code without a significant risk of unwanted side effects. | 07-18-2013 |
20130333031 | DYNAMIC CODE INSERTION AND REMOVAL FOR STATIC ANALYSIS BASED SANDBOXES - Methods and apparatus for dynamically adding and deleting new code to previously validated application executing in a secured runtime. New code is written to a portion of secured memory not executable by application. New code is validated to ensure it cannot directly call operating system, address memory outside of secured memory, or modify secured memory state. Indirect branch instructions may only target addresses aligned on fixed size boundaries within the secured memory. Validated code is copied to portion of secured memory executable by application in two stage process that ensures partially copied segments cannot be executed. Validated new code can be deleted once all threads reach safe execution point, provided code was previously inserted as unit or contains no internal targets that can be called by code not also being deleted. | 12-12-2013 |
20140013430 | Native Code Module Security for Arm Instruction Set Architectures - Some embodiments provide a system that executes a native code module. During operation, the system obtains the native code module. Next, the system loads the native code module into a secure runtime environment. Finally, the system safely executes the native code module in the secure runtime environment by using a set of software fault isolation (SFI) mechanisms that constrain store instructions in the native code module. The SFI mechanisms also maintain control flow integrity for the native code module by dividing a code region associated with the native code module into equally sized code blocks and data blocks and starting each of the data blocks with an illegal instruction. | 01-09-2014 |
20140052971 | NATIVE CODE INSTRUCTION SELECTION - Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for selecting native code instructions. One of the methods includes receiving an initial machine language instruction for execution by a processor in a first execution mode; determining that a portion of the initial machine language instruction, when executed by the processor in a second execution mode, satisfies one or more risk criteria; generating one or more alternative machine language instructions to replace the initial machine language instruction for execution by the processor in the first execution mode, wherein the one or more alternative machine language instructions, when executed by the processor in the second execution mode, mitigate the one or more risk criteria; and providing the one or more alternative machine language instructions. | 02-20-2014 |
20140282534 | VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT HAVING HARVARD ARCHITECTURE - Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, relating to software execution. One of the methods includes executing, on a computer including a single memory for storing data and instructions, a virtual environment including a data memory and an instruction memory, the instruction memory configured to be unreadable by instructions stored in the instruction memory; receiving, at the virtual environment, a software module comprising multiple instructions; and performing validation of the software module including: identifying, in the software module one or more calls to the single memory; and verifying that the one or more calls to the single memory are in the data memory. | 09-18-2014 |
20140359765 | Method for Validating an Untrusted Native Code Module - A system that validates a native code module. During operation, the system receives a native code module comprised of untrusted native program code. The system validates the native code module by: (1) determining that code in the native code module does not include any restricted instructions and/or does not access restricted features of a computing device; and (2) determining that the instructions in the native code module are aligned along byte boundaries such that a specified set of byte boundaries always contain a valid instruction and control flow instructions have valid targets. The system allows successfully-validated native code modules to execute, and rejects native code modules that fail validation. By validating the native code module, the system facilitates safely executing the native code module in the secure runtime environment on the computing device, thereby achieving native code performance for untrusted program binaries without significant risk of unwanted side effects. | 12-04-2014 |
20150026803 | Native Code Module Security for Arm Instruction Set Architectures - Some embodiments provide a system that executes a native code module. During operation, the system obtains the native code module. Next, the system loads the native code module into a secure runtime environment. Finally, the system safely executes the native code module in the secure runtime environment by using a set of software fault isolation (SFI) mechanisms that constrain store instructions in the native code module. The SFI mechanisms also maintain control flow integrity for the native code module by dividing a code region associated with the native code module into equally sized code blocks and data blocks and starting each of the data blocks with an illegal instruction. | 01-22-2015 |