Executing system calls in isolated address space in operating system kernel

Abstract

Embodiments of the present systems and methods may provide additional security mechanisms inside an operating system kernel itself by executing system calls in a dedicated address space to reduce the amount of shared resources that are visible to and thus exploitable by a malicious application. For example, in an embodiment, a method implemented in a computer may comprise a processor, memory accessible by the processor, and computer program instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor, the method may comprise: when a user process makes a system call, switching to kernel mode and using a system call page table for the user process to execute a system call handler, when the system call handler attempts to access unmapped kernel space memory, generating a page fault, and handling the page fault by determining whether the attempted access to unmapped kernel space memory is allowed.