Method for remotely verifying software integrity

• US 20020138554A1
• Filed: 03/26/2001
• Published: 09/26/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 03/26/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Feigen, Ronald G., Perona, Richard A., Comer, Erwin P., Lynn, James T.
• Application Number:
  US09/816,191
• Publication Number:
  US 20020138554A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/203
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/123 received data contents, e.g. message integrity

Abstract

A method of verifying the integrity of software resident on a remote network appliance is disclosed. The method includes providing a secure hash algorithm coupled with a seed value that may be employed by a network host to verify the integrity of the software associated with one or more network appliances.

Claims

1. A method (200) of verifying the integrity of software resident in a remote device in a network operated by a host, comprising the steps of:

providing a copy of the memory associated with said remote device to said host;

identifying, by said host, a subset of said memory associated with remote device;

inserting, by said host, a random seed at a predetermined address within said memory subset;

performing (202), by said host, a hash function on said memory subset containing said seed;

determining a host hash value as a result of said performing step;

transmitting (204) said seed and indicia of said memory subset from said host to said remote device;

inserting, by said remote device, said hash function on said memory subset containing said seed;

determining (208), by said remote device a remote hash value as a result of said executing step;

transmitting (210) said remote hash value from said remote device to said host; and

comparing (212), by said host, said host hash value to said remote hash value.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of determining a range that defines the subset of said memory

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the subset of code corresponds to code between a beginning address and an ending address, associated within a sector memory.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of identifying an intermediary address (112).