Firmware Instruction Certification Using Prepackaged Hash Verification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing technologies lack an efficient mechanism to ensure that cryptographic instructions and their functions are only executed when certified by a certification authority, leading to potential security vulnerabilities.
Innovation Solution
A system and method that generates and installs a driver on a computing device to package and treat the firmware code level hash and version number as code components, allowing quick certification verification by treating them as actual code components, eliminating the need for external mechanisms.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional external certification mechanisms are used to verify cryptographic instructions, then security can be maintained, but processing overhead increases and verification efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a driver as an intermediary layer between the application program and the cryptographic instructions. This driver contains pre-packaged firmware code level hashes and version numbers, acting as a local certification authority that eliminates the need for external verification mechanisms while maintaining security.
Solution Approach 2:
The firmware code level hash and version number are generated and packaged in advance at code release build time, before the application needs to execute cryptographic instructions. This preliminary preparation allows for rapid verification during runtime without processing overhead.
2Stability of the object's composition
If firmware code level hash and version number are stored separately from code components, then data organization is maintained, but access time and verification speed increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the firmware code level hash and version number with the code components by packaging them together in a driver. This consolidation allows the application program to access all necessary certification information in a single operation, eliminating separate lookup steps while maintaining organized data structure within the package.
3Reliability
If comprehensive certification verification is implemented for all cryptographic instructions, then system integrity is maintained, but processing overhead increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements partial verification by using pre-packaged hash values and version numbers that are generated once at build time. Instead of performing comprehensive verification of entire firmware images during execution, the system uses compact hashed representations that provide sufficient integrity checking with minimal processing overhead.
Data Source
AI summary
Execution of an instruction includes obtaining from an application program a request to execute of an instruction to perform an action defined by the instruction. Machine code accesses a function code in the instruction to locate a version number of firmware code of the instruction and a hash comprising a firmware code level of the instruction. Machine code locates the hash and the version number in a storage of the at least one computing device. Machine code provides the hash and the version number to the application program, wherein the application program issues the instruction if the hash is certified by a certification authority.