Hypervisor Paravirtualization for Secure VM Cloning

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Solution Overview

Problem

In virtualized computer systems, cloned virtual machines can access secure data unless specialized hardware is used, posing a security risk as existing technologies lack effective methods to prevent access without such hardware.

Innovation Solution

The system employs paravirtualization by modifying the guest operating system to transmit messages to the hypervisor, which manages memory locations containing secure data, ensuring that cloned virtual machines do not access these locations during creation, and handles cloning commands to prevent access to secure data through direct-copy and copy-on-write operations.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If direct-copy command is used to clone virtual machine, then cloning speed is improved, but secure data is exposed to cloned VM

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecloning speedVSAvoiddata security

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies preliminary action by having the guest operating system pre-identify secure data locations and communicate them to the hypervisor before the cloning operation begins. This allows the hypervisor to proactively exclude these identified memory locations from the direct-copy operation, ensuring secure data is not exposed to the cloned VM while still allowing rapid cloning of non-secure data.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

2Reliability

If copy-on-write command is used to clone virtual machine, then data security is improved, but cloning speed deteriorates

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedata securityVSAvoidcloning speed

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSProductivity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by treating secure and non-secure data differently within the same cloning operation. Instead of applying a uniform security approach to all data, the hypervisor identifies specific memory locations containing secure data and applies selective exclusion only to those locations, while allowing rapid direct-copy operations for all other non-secure data regions.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

3Reliability

If specialized hardware is used to protect secure data, then data security is improved, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvedata securityVSAvoidhardware requirements

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent replaces the mechanical hardware-based security approach with a software-based solution. Instead of requiring specialized hardware modules or physical security mechanisms, the system uses the hypervisor's software capabilities to identify, track, and exclude secure data locations from cloning operations, thereby achieving security without additional hardware complexity.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

Data Source

PatentUS8775715B2Protection of data from virtual machine clones via paravirtualization

Publication Date: 2014.07.08 RED HAT ISRAEL

AI summary

A system and method for protecting secure data from virtual machine clones are disclosed. In accordance with one embodiment, a hypervisor receives a message from a guest operating system hosted by a first virtual machine, where the message identifies a memory location (e.g., of main memory, of a storage device, etc.) for a secure datum. After the hypervisor receives a direct-copy command to clone the first virtual machine, the hypervisor creates a second virtual machine via direct copy, where the second virtual machine is not provided access to the secure memory location during its creation.