Trust model for a database management system supporting multiple authorization domains

• US 7,743,255 B2
• Filed: 06/17/2005
• Issued: 06/22/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/17/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Dutta, Tanmoy, Garcia, Raul, Li, Ziquan, Chander, Girish
• Primary Examiner(s): LAFORGIA, CHRISTIAN A
• Application Number:
  US11/156,149
• Publication Number:
  US 20060288214A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,831 Days
• Field of Search: 707/9, 707/10, 713/713, 726/10
• US Class Current: 713/176
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6227 where protection concerns the structure of data, e.g. records, types, queries

Abstract

A database management system that supports multiple databases in an instance with controlled sharing between the databases. The invention can also support execution of procedures and other modules in the context of any principal possibly different from that of the caller. Trusted certificates can be employed to permit access to procedures (or other modules). The security context of the invention can enable the building blocks of building a pure trusted sub-system model of authorization.

Claims

1. A system that employs a certificate to authenticate access to resources in a multi-domain database management system comprising at least one processor coupled to computer-readable memory, the system further comprising:

executable code in a first domain that determines whether the first domain trusts a certificate;

a first component of the first domain that determines whether one or more instructions executing in a second domain are signed by the certificate that is determined to be trusted by the first domain; and

a second component of the first domain that provides the executing instructions with access to a resource of the first domain when the executing instructions are signed by the certificate that is determined to be trusted by the first domain.

2. The system of claim 1, the certificate is one of a digital public and private key.

3. The system of claim 1, the one or more instructions are executed by a caller in the second domain.

4. The system of claim 1, the one or more instructions are packaged in a stored procedure.

5. The system of claim 1, further comprising at least a third domain with one or more executing instructions that are signed by the certificate trusted by the first domain.

6. The system of claim 5, the security component provides the executing instructions of the third domain with access to the resource of the first domain within an associated context.

7. The system of claim 1, the resource is a database.

8. The system of claim 1, the first domain and the second domain are databases.

9. The system of claim 1, the first domain and the second domain are within a same instance of a server.

10. The system of claim 1, the first domain defines a scope of execution for the owner of the second domain within the first domain.

11. A computer readable storage medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions comprising:

executable code in a first domain that determines whether the first domain trusts a certificate;

a first component of the first domain that determines whether one or more instructions executing in a second domain are signed by the certificate that is determined to be trusted by the first domain; and

a second component of the first domain that provides the executing instructions with access to a resource of the first domain when the executing instructions are signed by the certificate that is determined to be trusted by the first domain.

12. A method for establishing a secure context between databases in a server instance with digital certificates, comprising:

acquiring a digital certificate to access a resource in a first database;

a first domain determining that it trusts the digital certificate;

a second domain signing a named code segment in a second database with the certificates, the named code segment being executable code within a stored procedure in the first domain; and

executing the named code segment to access the resource in the first database.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising invoking the named code segment by a caller in the second database.

14. The method of claim 12, the resource is a database.

15. The method of claim 12, the named code segment is a stored procedure.

16. The method of claim 12, further comprising utilizing a public or private digital certificate.

17. The method of claim 12, further comprising instantiating the first database and the second database in a same instance of a server.

18. The method of claim 12, further comprising denying access to the resource in the first database by a disparate named code segment executing in a third database where the disparate named code segment is not signed by the certificate.