Shared memory inter-enclave communication

Abstract

Disclosed embodiments provide techniques for inter-enclave communication through shared memory. Enclaves (containers) operate in a protected memory space that inhibits the use of shared memory. Disclosed embodiments enable enclaves to use shared memory, eliminating the communication bottlenecks associated with networking. A memory cryptography coprocessor implemented in hardware generates shared memory key data for a shared memory region that is to be used by two or more enclaves. The shared memory key data is sent to the enclaves that require a shared memory interface. The enclaves access the shared memory securely utilizing the shared memory key data. The memory cryptography coprocessor facilitates shared memory key generation and exchange. The memory cryptography coprocessor data is not directly accessible by the processes executing on the main processor. This enables secure cloud hosting on untrusted environments, since the hosting entity cannot directly access the internal data of the memory cryptography coprocessor.