Virtual Machine Trust Anchor via Immutable Image Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Establishing a chain of trust in virtual machines is inefficient due to the need to measure entire images, which is resource-intensive and does not account for authorized updates, leading to challenges in refreshing the trust chain.
Innovation Solution
Measuring only the immutable portion of a virtual machine image, such as the boot loader binary, to generate a trust anchor measurement, which is stored in sealed memory, allowing for efficient establishment and refreshment of the chain of trust during boot-ups and updates.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the entire virtual machine image is measured to establish a chain of trust, then the completeness and security of the attestation is improved, but the computational overhead and time required increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The virtual machine image is segmented into immutable portions (boot loader, kernel, etc.) and mutable portions (application binaries, configuration files). Only the immutable portions are measured and included in the chain of trust establishment, while mutable portions are excluded. This segmentation allows the system to maintain reliable attestation of critical components without the computational overhead of measuring the entire image.
2Measurement precision
If the entire virtual machine image is measured, then comprehensive verification is achieved, but the computational resources and processing overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential immutable components (boot loader binary, kernel binary, initial file system) from the complete virtual machine image for measurement purposes. By taking out only these critical immutable portions and measuring them, the system achieves sufficient verification coverage for security purposes while dramatically reducing computational resource consumption compared to measuring the entire image.
3Reliability
If the chain of trust is established using the entire virtual machine image, then complete integrity verification is possible, but authorized updates cannot be accommodated without breaking the trust chain
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces dynamics by distinguishing between immutable components (measured and included in chain of trust) and mutable components (not measured, allowed to change). This dynamic approach allows the system to maintain integrity verification for critical components while permitting authorized updates to application binaries and other mutable portions, enabling the trust chain to be refreshed without breaking security guarantees.
Data Source
AI summary
According to an aspect of an embodiment, a method of establishing a chain of trust into a virtual machine on a hardware system is described. The method may include measuring an immutable portion of a virtual machine image configured to instantiate as the virtual machine to generate a trust anchor measurement. The method may also include storing the trust anchor measurement in a sealed memory.