Efficient patching

• US 8,156,487 B2
• Filed: 07/02/2009
• Issued: 04/10/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 05/11/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Blumfield, Anthony, Golan, Gilad, Garms, Jason, Alshibani, Saud
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, PHILLIP H
• Application Number:
  US12/497,525
• Publication Number:
  US 20100070964A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,013 Days
• Field of Search: 717/173, 717/172, 717/177, 717/178
• US Class Current: 717/172
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 8/65 Updates security arrangements therefor G06F21/57

Abstract

A facility for automatically processing software patches is described. The facility receives in a computing system a distinguished patch package for modifying the behavior of a programmatic entity. The facility automatically extracts from the distinguished patch package (1) patch application information that identifies a distinguished programmatic entity against which the patches to be applied, and (2) patch behavior information that specifies a manner in which to modify the behavior of the distinguished programmatic entity. The facility automatically adds to a patch table a distinguished entry containing the extracted patch application information and patch behavior information.

Claims

1. A method in a computing system, comprising:

automatically receiving in the computing system a distinguished patch package for modifying behavior of an installed program, the received patch package having been transmitted to the computing system in a manner not synchronously responsive to any request issued by or from the computing system;

automatically extracting from the distinguished patch package (1) patch application information, identifying a distinguished portion of a distinguished program against which the distinguished patch package is to be applied, and (2) patch behavior information, specifying a manner in which to modify the behavior of the distinguished portion of the distinguished program;

automatically adding a distinguished entry to a patch table, the distinguished entry containing the extracted patch application information and patch behavior information; and

directly in response to the addition of the distinguished entry to the patch table, using contents of the distinguished entry to modify the behavior of the distinguished portion of the distinguished program.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the contents of the distinguished entry are used to modify the behavior of the distinguished portion of the distinguished program at a time when no administrative user is logged in to the computing system.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the contents of the distinguished entry are used to modify the behavior of the distinguished portion of the distinct program without relying upon any user permissions.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the contents of the distinct entry are used to modify the behavior of the distinguished portion of the distinguished program without determining a location in which the distinguished program is persistently stored.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the contents of the distinguished entry are used to modify the behavior of the distinguished portion of the distinguished program in response to a loading of the distinguished program.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the contents of the distinguished entry are used to modify the behavior of the distinguished portion of the distinguished program in response to execution of the distinguished portion of the distinguished program.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein two instances of the distinguished program are loaded, and the contents of the distinguished entry are used to modify the behavior of the distinguished portion of both instances of the distinguished program.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

at the time the patch application information is extracted, determining whether the distinguished program is loaded in the computing system; and

if the distinguished program is loaded in the computing system, using the extracted patch application information to modify the behavior of the loaded distinguished program in accordance with the patch behavior information.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising deleting the distinguished entry from the patch table to prevent the behavior of the distinct portion of the distinguished program from being modified in accordance with the patch behavior information contained by the distinguished entry.

10. The method of claim 1, further comprising, before performing the automatic extraction, automatically validating the distinguished patch package.

11. One or more computer memories collectively storing a patch table data structure, comprising a plurality of patch entries, each patch entry representing a patch and containing contents comprising:

patch application information, identifying a distinguished portion of a distinguished programmatic entity as a portion of a programmatic entity to which the patch is to be applied, the distinguished portion of the distinguished programmatic entity having a behavior; and

patch behavior information, specifying a manner in which to modify the behavior of the distinguished portion the distinguished programmatic entity, such that, for a particular patch entry, the contents of the patch entry can be used to modify the behavior of the distinguished portion of the distinguished programmatic entity in the specified manner,

at least one of the patch entries identifying a distinguished portion of a distinguished proqrammatic entity that has not been modified in the specified manner.

12. The computer memories of claim 11 wherein the patch application information identifies an executable module associated with the programmatic entity.

13. The computer memories of claim 11 wherein a selected patch entry contains a plurality of patch application information instances, each instance identifying a distinguished portion of a different version of the distinguished programmatic entity.

14. The computer memories of claim 11 wherein the patch behavior information of a selected patch entry contains code usable to modify the behavior of the distinct portion of the distinguished programmatic entity.

15. The computer memories of claim 11 wherein the patch behavior information of a selected patch entry contains data usable to modify the behavior of the distinct portion of the distinguished programmatic entity.

16. The computer memories of claim 11 wherein the patch behavior information of a selected patch entry specifies a parameter validation test to be applied to a specified parameter associated with the distinguished programmatic entity.

17. The computer memories of claim 11 wherein an identity of the computer memories storing the patch table data structure is configurable.

18. The computer memories of claim 11 wherein the computer memories are directly connected to a computer system on which one or more of the patch entries are to be applied.

19. The computer memories of claim 11 wherein the computer memories are directly connected to a computer system on which no patch entries are to be applied.

20. A method in a computing system for automatically applying a software patch, comprising:

receiving in the computing system a patch for modifying a behavior of a programmatic entity, the patch (1) specifying a manner in which to modify the behavior of the programmatic entity, and (2) for each of a plurality of versions of the programmatic entity, (a) identifying the version of the programmatic entity, (b) specifying a position in the version of the programmatic entity to modify the behavior of the programmatic entity in the specified manner, and (c) identifying code expected to reside at the specified position in the version of the programmatic entity before the behavior of the programmatic entity is modified;

automatically determining that a distinguished version of the programmatic entity among the versions of the programmatic entity identified by the patch is installed on the computing system; and

only if the position specified for the distinguished version of the programmatic entity contains the identified code expected to reside at the specified position, modifying the behavior of the programmatic entity at the position specified for the distinguished version of the programmatic entity in accordance with the patch.