Google Inc.

J Bradley Chen

David Sehr

Bennet S Yee

Matthew Nicholas Papakipos

Matthew T Harren

Robert Muth

Gregory Dardyk

Jan Voung

Derek L Schuff

Victor Khimenko

Alan A Donovan

David C Sehr

A system that validates a native code module. During operation, the system receives a native code module comprised of untrusted native program code. The system validates the native code module by: (1) determining that code in the native code module does not include any restricted instructions and/or does not access restricted features of a computing device; and (2) determining that the instructions in the native code module are aligned along byte boundaries such that a specified set of byte boundaries always contain a valid instruction and control flow instructions have valid targets. The system allows successfully-validated native code modules to execute, and rejects native code modules that fail validation. By validating the native code module, the system facilitates safely executing the native code module in the secure runtime environment on the computing device, thereby achieving native code performance for untrusted program binaries without significant risk of unwanted side effects.

Method for validating an untrusted native code module

Methods, systems, and computer program products are provided for machine-specific instruction set translation. One example method includes identifying computing devices, each device having a respective software component installed, the software component including a translator component for translating a program in a portable format to a machine-specific instruction set, and a sandbox component for executing programs translated to the machine-specific instruction set on the computing device using software-based fault isolation; identifying computing devices having a given hardware configuration; and transmitting another translator component and another sandbox component to each of the identified computing devices. Each of the identified computing devices having the given hardware configuration is configured to receive the components and to configure its software component to use the received components in lieu of the corresponding components.

Machine-specific instruction set translation

A system that safely executes a native code module on a computing device. During operation, the system receives the native code module, which is comprised of untrusted native program code expressed using native instructions in the instruction set architecture associated with the computing device. The system then loads the native code module into a secure runtime environment, and proceeds to execute a set of instructions from the native code module in the secure runtime environment. The secure runtime environment enforces code integrity, control flow integrity, and data integrity for the native code module. Furthermore, the secure runtime environment moderates which resources can be accessed by the native code module on the computing device and/or how these resources can be accessed. By executing the native code module in the secure runtime environment, the system facilitates achieving native code performance for untrusted program code without a significant risk of unwanted side effects.

Safely executing an untrusted native code module on a computing device

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, relating to software execution. One of the methods includes executing, on a computer including a single memory for storing data and instructions, a virtual environment including a data memory and an instruction memory, the instruction memory configured to be unreadable by instructions stored in the instruction memory; receiving, at the virtual environment, a software module comprising multiple instructions; and performing validation of the software module including: identifying, in the software module one or more calls to the single memory; and verifying that the one or more calls to the single memory are in the data memory.

Virtual environment having harvard architecture

Validating an untrusted native code module

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for providing a translation service that generates native object code by translating an intermediate representation of application code in a portable code format. One aspect of the subject matter described in this specification can be embodied in methods that include the actions of receiving a translation service request for a native executable for a particular instruction set architecture from a requestor, where the translation service request includes data specifying portable code in an instruction-set neutral format; obtaining the portable code; translating the portable code into native object code for execution on the particular instruction set architecture; generating a native executable for the particular instruction set architecture; and returning the native executable to the requestor.

Web application module translation service

Some embodiments provide a system that executes a native code module. During operation, the system obtains the native code module. Next, the system loads the native code module into a secure runtime environment. Finally, the system safely executes the native code module in the secure runtime environment by using a set of software fault isolation (SFI) mechanisms that maintain control flow integrity for the native code module and constrain store instructions in the native code module by bounding a valid memory region of the native code module with one or more guard regions.

Native code module security for 64-bit instruction set architectures

Methods and apparatus for executing untrusted application code are disclosed. An example apparatus includes an execution mode state indicator with a plurality of states. In the example apparatus, the execution mode state indicator is configured such that placing the execution mode state indicator in a first state causes the processor to operate in a first execution mode and placing the execution mode state indicator in a second state causes the processor to operate in a second execution mode. The example apparatus also includes an instruction processing module that is configured to implement a set of instructions in the first execution mode and designate one or more instructions of the set of instructions as illegal instructions in the second execution mode. The example apparatus further includes a memory system that, in the second execution mode, is configured to restrict access to a set of memory addresses accessible by the processor in the first execution mode to a subset of the set of memory addresses.

Computing device with untrusted user execution mode

This disclosure presents a system that uses masking to safely execute native code. This system includes a processing element that executes the native code and a memory which stores code and data for the processing element. The processing element includes a masking mechanism that masks one or more bits of a target address during a control flow transfer to transfer control to a restricted set of aligned byte boundaries in the native code.

Masking mechanism that facilitates safely executing untrusted native code

A system that safely executes a native code module on a computing device. During operation, the system receives the native code module, which is comprised of untrusted native program code expressed using native instructions in the instruction set architecture associated with the computing device. The system then loads the native code module into a secure runtime environment, and proceeds to execute a set of instructions from the native code module in the secure runtime environment. The secure runtime environment enforces code integrity, control-flow integrity, and data integrity for the native code module. Furthermore, the secure runtime environment moderates which resources can be accessed by the native code module on the computing device and/or how these resources can be accessed. By executing the native code module in the secure runtime environment, the system facilitates achieving native code performance for untrusted program code without a significant risk of unwanted side effects.

A system that uses segmentation to safely execute native code. This system includes a processing element that executes the native code and a memory which stores code and data for the processing element. The processing element includes a segmentation mechanism which limits the native code executing on the processing element to accessing a specified segment of memory. The processing element also includes an instruction-processing unit, which is configured to execute a user-level instruction that causes the segmentation mechanism to limit memory accesses by the native code to the specified segment of the memory.

Growing community of inventors

Los Gatos, CA, United States of America

J Bradley Chen