BIOS Protocol Database Obfuscation for Serviceability Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing BIOS implementations lack security standards to protect protocols from unexpected uninstallation by other drivers, jeopardizing protocol serviceability and reliability, which can be exploited by malicious actors.
Innovation Solution
A BIOS system with a core that receives installation indications from producer drivers, stores metadata in a protocol database, and obfuscates this metadata from consumer drivers to prevent uninstallation, ensuring only producer drivers can uninstall protocols.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If protocol drivers are allowed to be freely installed and uninstalled in BIOS, then system adaptability and ease of operation are improved, but protocol serviceability and reliability deteriorate due to unexpected uninstallation by malicious actors
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a protocol database as an intermediary layer between producer drivers and consumer drivers. This database stores metadata about installed protocols and controls access to protocol information. The database acts as a mediator that allows consumer drivers to consume protocols while preventing them from uninstalling protocols, thus resolving the contradiction between installation flexibility and serviceability reliability.
2Ease of operation
If consumer drivers can access protocol metadata directly, then ease of operation is improved, but security and reliability worsen due to unauthorized uninstallation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements local quality by providing different access rights to different components. The protocol database stores metadata with differentiated access control: consumer drivers can read protocol metadata to consume protocols, but cannot modify or delete it. Only producer drivers or system administrators can uninstall protocols. This local differentiation of access rights resolves the contradiction between operational ease and security.
3Device complexity
If no security standards are implemented for protocol drivers, then device complexity is reduced, but protocol serviceability and system security deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by establishing security standards and protocols during the BIOS design and implementation phase. The protocol database structure, metadata storage format, and access control mechanisms are pre-configured to prevent unauthorized uninstallation. This preliminary establishment of security frameworks protects against future threats without requiring complex runtime security decisions, thus resolving the contradiction between simplicity and protection.
Data Source
AI summary
A method may include, in an information handling system comprising a basic input/output system (BIOS) embodied in non-transitory computer-readable media and configured to be the first code executed by a processor when the information handling system is booted and configured to initialize components of the information handling system into a known state: receiving an indication of installation of a protocol by a producer driver of a plurality of protocol drivers integral to the BIOS, storing metadata regarding the protocol in a protocol database of the BIOS, receiving a request to consume the protocol by a consumer driver of the plurality of protocol drivers, and obfuscating the metadata stored in the protocol database from the consumer driver to prevent the consumer driver from uninstalling the protocol.