Threat-aware microvisor
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A system comprising:
- a central processing unit (CPU) adapted to execute a process, an operating system kernel and a virtualization module; and
a memory configured to store the process, the operating system kernel and the virtualization module, the virtualization module including;
a first protection domain having a plurality of execution contexts and scheduling contexts, each execution context linked to a scheduling context and interacting with capabilities, wherein the capabilities of the first protection domain are configured to specify access control permissions to kernel resources accessible by the process, the first protection domain associated with services provided to the process by the operating system kernel to control the kernel resources accessible by the process; and
a second protection domain configured as a clone of the first protection domain except for the capabilities, wherein in response to execution of the process, the capabilities of the second protection domain are configured to specify limited access control permissions to the kernel resources accessible by the process, the second protection domain associated with the process, wherein the virtualization module is organized as the first protection domain and the second protection domain for the operating system kernel.
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Abstract
A threat-aware microvisor is configured to facilitate real-time security analysis, including exploit detection and threat intelligence, of operating system processes executing on a node of a network environment. The microvisor may be embodied as a module disposed or layered beneath (underlying) an operating system kernel executing on the node to thereby control privileges (i.e., access permissions) to kernel resources, such as one or more central processing units (CPUs), network interfaces, memory, and/or devices, of the node. Illustratively, the microvisor may be configured to control access to one or more of the resources in response to a request by an operating system process to access the resource.
183 Citations
21 Claims
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1. A system comprising:
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a central processing unit (CPU) adapted to execute a process, an operating system kernel and a virtualization module; and a memory configured to store the process, the operating system kernel and the virtualization module, the virtualization module including; a first protection domain having a plurality of execution contexts and scheduling contexts, each execution context linked to a scheduling context and interacting with capabilities, wherein the capabilities of the first protection domain are configured to specify access control permissions to kernel resources accessible by the process, the first protection domain associated with services provided to the process by the operating system kernel to control the kernel resources accessible by the process; and a second protection domain configured as a clone of the first protection domain except for the capabilities, wherein in response to execution of the process, the capabilities of the second protection domain are configured to specify limited access control permissions to the kernel resources accessible by the process, the second protection domain associated with the process, wherein the virtualization module is organized as the first protection domain and the second protection domain for the operating system kernel. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method comprising:
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storing an operating system process and a virtualization module in a memory of a node in a computer network; organizing the virtualization module to include a first protection domain having a plurality of execution contexts and scheduling contexts, each execution context linked to a scheduling context and interacting with capabilities specifying permissions of the operating system process to access resources of the node; copying the execution contexts, scheduling contexts and capabilities of the first protection domain to create a second protection domain of the virtualization module; executing the operating system process on a central processing unit (CPU) of the node; and in response to execution of the operating system process, configuring the capabilities of the second protection domain to limit the permissions of the operating system process to access the resources, wherein the virtualization module is organized as the first protection domain and the second protection domain for an operation system kernel managing the operating system process. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method comprising:
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storing an operating system process and a virtualization module in a memory of a node in a computer network; organizing the virtualization module to include a first protection domain having a plurality of execution contexts and scheduling contexts, each execution context linked to a scheduling context and interacting with first capabilities specifying permissions of the operating system process to access hardware resources of the node; decomposing the operating system process into a plurality of threads; executing a thread of the operating system process on a central processing unit (CPU) of the node; checking the first capabilities of the first protection domain to determine whether the thread is allowed to access a hardware resource; and cloning the first protection domain to create a second protection domain of the virtualization module having second capabilities that are more restricted than the first capabilities if the thread is not allowed to access the hardware resource wherein the process is controlled and synchronized by a same instance of the operating system kernel in the first protection domain and in the second protection domain, wherein the virtualization module is organized as the first protection domain and the second protection domain for an operating system kernel managing the operating system process. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. A non-transitory computer readable media containing instructions for execution on a processor of a node for a method comprising:
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storing an operating system process and a virtualization module in a memory of the node in a computer network; organizing the virtualization module to include a first protection domain having a plurality of execution contexts and scheduling contexts, each execution context linked to a scheduling context and interacting with capabilities specifying permissions of the operating system process to access resources of the node; copying the execution contexts, scheduling contexts and capabilities of the first protection domain to create a second protection domain of the virtualization module; executing the operating system process on the processor; and in response to execution of the operating system process, configuring the capabilities of the second protection domain to limit the permissions of the operating system process to access the resources, wherein the virtualization module is organized as the first protection domain and the second protection domain for an operating system kernel managing the operating system process.
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Specification