Runtime Metadata Encoding for Buffer Overrun Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Type unsafe programming languages like C, C++, and assembly languages lack run-time checking, leading to vulnerabilities such as buffer overruns, which compromise security, integrity, and reliability of computer systems, with prevalent threats and increasing economic costs due to unaddressed vulnerabilities.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that encode data objects and their metadata to support run-time checking by rewriting programs to reserve metadata sections in the run-time environment, allowing for verification of data usage consistency and prevention of buffer overruns through additional instructions for storing, loading, and checking metadata.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If type unsafe programming languages are used, then productivity and ease of operation are improved, but security and reliability deteriorate due to lack of run-time checking
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by encoding metadata (including type information, size, and boundaries) into data structures before runtime execution. This pre-encoded metadata enables automatic run-time checking without requiring complex static analysis or manual verification, thus maintaining productivity while improving reliability through automated safety checks.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces metadata as an intermediary element that mediates between the programmer and the runtime system. This metadata acts as a carrier of type information and safety constraints, enabling the runtime checker to verify data usage without burdening the programmer with explicit checking code, thus resolving the contradiction between ease of operation and reliability.
2Reliability
If metadata encoding and run-time checking are implemented, then security and reliability are improved, but device complexity and overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges metadata encoding with existing data structures by integrating type information, size, and boundary metadata directly into the data representations used by the program. This merging approach avoids creating separate complex checking systems, as the safety information is embedded within the same structures that the program already manipulates, thus improving reliability without proportionally increasing device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements self-service by designing data structures that carry their own metadata information (type, size, boundaries) embedded within them. This self-contained approach eliminates the need for external metadata management systems or complex separate verification mechanisms, as the data structures themselves provide the information needed for run-time checking, thus reducing overall system complexity while maintaining reliability.
3Speed
If buffer boundaries are not checked, then execution speed is improved, but harmful factors increase due to buffer overrun vulnerabilities
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary anti-action by pre-encoding boundary information and type metadata into data structures before execution. This pre-prepared safety information enables the runtime system to perform quick boundary checks without requiring complex dynamic analysis during execution, thus countering buffer overrun vulnerabilities while minimizing impact on execution speed through efficient metadata-based verification.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and system encodes data objects and their metadata. An implementation provides a method and system for rewriting a program to encode metadata in the run-time environment of the program. An implementation provides a method for serializing a data object according to the encoding method and a method for deserializing a bit sequence that is generated by the serialization method.