Techniques for implementing a secure mailbox in resource-constrained embedded systems

• US 9,674,141 B2
• Filed: 12/27/2013
• Issued: 06/06/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/27/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Nie, Jiu-Tao, Sun, Mingqiu, Wang, Xin, Deng, Chengrui, Wang, Ligang, Selvaraje, Gopinatth
• Primary Examiner(s): SCHMIDT, KARI L
• Application Number:
  US14/369,567
• Publication Number:
  US 20150195236A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,257 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/554 involving event detection and direct action
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/566 Dynamic detection, i.e. detection performed at run-time, e.g. emulation, suspicious activities
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/57 Certifying or maintaining trusted computer platforms, e.g. secure boots or power-downs, version controls, system software checks, secure updates or assessing vulnerabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/42 Mailbox-related aspects, e.g. synchronisation of mailboxes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/02 for separating internal from external traffic, e.g. firewalls

Abstract

Various embodiments are generally directed to implementing a secure mailbox in resource-constrained embedded systems. An apparatus to establish communication with a trusted execution environment includes a processor component, a co-processor component for executing the trusted execution environment, a host operating system component for execution by the processor component and including one or more application components, a mailbox array component for execution by the co-processor to store one or more mailbox components, each mailbox component being associated with a mailbox identification number, and a mailbox firewall component for execution by the co-processor component to facilitate communication between the one or more application components and the one or more mailbox components. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a hardware processor component comprising a portion of a chipset, the hardware processor component to execute a host operating system component comprising one or more application components;

a hardware co-processor component comprising a portion of the chipset separate from the hardware processor component to execute a trusted execution environment, the trusted execution environment to perform secure operations for at least one of the one or more application components of the host operating system component, the trusted execution environment to include;

a mailbox array component to store one or more mailbox components, each mailbox component being associated with a mailbox identification number, the mailbox identification number to include a mailbox index number comprising a number of bits m, the number of bits m based on a total number of mailbox components n within the mailbox array component, m and n comprising positive integers;

a mailbox firewall initialization component to allocate firewall record slots for each of the one or more mailbox components, each firewall record slot including a mailbox identification number and an application component address; and

a mailbox firewall component to facilitate communication between the at least one of the one or more application components of the host operating system component and at least one of the one or more mailbox components of the trusted execution environment.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, the mailbox identification number including the mailbox index number and a mailbox serial number.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, the number of bits m less than or equal to the total number of mailbox components n within the mailbox array component.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, the mailbox serial number including a number of bits that is less than or equal to m−

n.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, the trusted execution environment to include a mailbox allocation component to:

initialize a global last serial number value to zero in response to a system startup operation;

in response to a request for mailbox allocation;

locate an unused mailbox component from the mailbox array component;

retrieve a mailbox index number for the located unused mailbox component;

assign a serial number to the located unused mailbox component; and

assign a mailbox identification number to the located unused mailbox component that includes the mailbox index number and the serial number.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, the trusted execution environment to include a mailbox search component to:

receive a mailbox identification number from the one or more application components;

determine whether the received mailbox identification number matches an existing mailbox identification number;

when a match is determined, confirm to the one or more application components that a match has been found; and

when a match is not determined, return a NULL value to the one or more application components.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, the trusted execution environment to include a mailbox reclaiming component to:

receive a reclaim request from the one or more application components identifying a mailbox component; and

increase a mailbox identification number for the identified mailbox component.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, the trusted execution environment to include a firewall mailbox allocation component to:

receive a request for mailbox allocation from one or more application components; and

create a new firewall record slot including an application component address associated with the one or more application components and a mailbox identification number for an available mailbox component.

9. A computer-implemented method comprising:

allocating firewall record slots for each of one or more mailbox components within a mailbox array component of a trusted execution environment executed by a hardware co-processor component, the trusted execution environment for performing secure operations for one or more application components of a host operating system component executed by a hardware processor component separate from the hardware co-processor component, each firewall record slot including a mailbox identification number and an application component address;

receiving a message from one or more application components of the host operating system component, the message including a mailbox identification number and an application component address associated with an application component, the mailbox identification number including a mailbox index number comprising a number of bits m, the number of bits m based on a total number of the one or more mailbox components n, m and n comprising positive integers;

verifying the message by a firewall component of the trusted execution environment based on the mailbox identification number and the application component address associated with the application component; and

storing the message in a mailbox component matching the mailbox identification number based on verification of the message by the firewall component.

10. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, the mailbox identification number including the mailbox index number and a mailbox serial number.

11. The computer-implemented method of claim 10, the number of bits m less than or equal to the total number of mailbox components n within the mailbox array component.

12. The computer-implemented method of claim 11, the mailbox serial number including a number of bits that is less than or equal to m−

n.

13. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, further comprising:

initializing a global last serial number value to zero in response to a system startup operation; and

in response to a request for mailbox allocation;

locating an unused mailbox component from the mailbox array component;

retrieving a mailbox index number for the located unused mailbox component;

assigning a serial number to the located unused mailbox component; and

assigning a mailbox identification number to the located unused mailbox component that includes the mailbox index number and the serial number.

14. The computer-implemented method of claim 9, further comprising:

receiving a mailbox identification number from the one or more application components;

determining whether the received mailbox identification number matches an existing mailbox identification number;

if a match has been determined, confirming to the one or more application components that a match has been found; and

if a match has not been determined, returning a NULL value to the one or more application components.

15. At least one non-transitory machine-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to:

allocate firewall record slots for each of one or more mailbox components within a mailbox array component of a trusted execution environment executed by a hardware co-processor component, the trusted execution environment to perform secure operations for one or more application components of a host operating system component executed by a hardware processor component separate from the hardware co-processor component, each firewall record slot including a mailbox identification number and an application component address;

receive a message from one or more application components of a host operating system component, the message including a mailbox identification number and an application component address associated with an application component, the mailbox identification number including a mailbox index number comprising a number of bits m, the number of bits m based on a total number of the one or more mailbox components n, m and n comprising positive integers;

verify the message by a firewall component of the trusted execution environment based on the mailbox identification number and the application component address associated with the application component; and

store the message in a mailbox component matching the mailbox identification number based on verification of the message by the firewall component.

16. The at least one non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 15, the mailbox identification number including the mailbox index number and a mailbox serial number.

17. The at least one non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 16, the number of bits m less than or equal to a total number of mailbox components n within the mailbox array component.

18. The at least one non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 17, the mailbox serial number including a number of bits that is less than or equal to m−

n.

19. The at least one non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 15, the computing device further caused to:

initialize a global last serial number value to zero in response to a system startup operation; and

in response to a request for mailbox allocation;

locate an unused mailbox component from the mailbox array component;

retrieve a mailbox index number for the located unused mailbox component;

assign a serial number to the located unused mailbox component; and

assign a mailbox identification number to the located unused mailbox component that includes the mailbox index number and the serial number.