Runtime Firmware Authentication Service
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing firmware configuration processes lack secure authentication mechanisms, making them vulnerable to unauthorized changes, which can lead to system instability or malicious alterations.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a runtime authentication service that verifies access to firmware assets using authentication credentials, ensuring that only authenticated requests can modify firmware variables and invoke firmware functions, leveraging UEFI runtime services and a function table to manage access and authentication.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If firmware configuration allows direct access and modification, then ease of operation is improved, but system security and reliability deteriorate due to unauthorized changes
Solution Approach 1:
An authentication service is introduced as an intermediary component between the application and firmware variables. This service intercepts requests, verifies authentication credentials, and only permits access to authenticated users, thereby maintaining both ease of operation for legitimate users and system integrity through security enforcement.
2Reliability
If firmware configuration requires authentication checks, then system security is improved, but device complexity increases due to additional authentication service components
Solution Approach 1:
The authentication service is designed to handle multiple types of firmware variable access requests (get, set, delete operations) and supports various authentication methods through a unified interface. This multi-functional design consolidates security checks into a single service component, reducing overall system complexity despite the added security functionality.
Data Source
AI summary
A computing system firmware is provided that includes functionality for securely authenticating a user of the computing system prior to allowing the user, through an application running on an operating system, to invoke firmware functions and to access and modify firmware variables. The authentication may use the same authentication credentials used to access firmware utilities during the computing system's power-on self-test (POST) phase. Upon receiving requests to access firmware assets, an authentication service determines whether the access has been authenticated for the user. If so, access to the firmware assets is granted. If access has not been authenticated for the user, the authentication service attempts to authenticate the user by verifying the authentication credentials passed along with the request.