US 10,241,819 B2Granted

Isolating data within a computer system using private shadow mappings

AssigneeVMware, Inc.

InventorsXiaoxin Chen, Carl A. Waldspurger, Pratap Subrahmanyam

Life of this patent

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Abstract

Virtualization software establishes multiple execution environments within a virtual machine, wherein software modules executing in one environment cannot access private memory of another environment. A separate set of shadow memory address mappings is maintained for each execution environment. For example, a separate shadow page table may be maintained for each execution environment. The virtualization software ensures that the shadow address mappings for one execution environment do not map to the physical memory pages that contain the private code or data of another execution environment. When execution switches from one execution environment to another, the virtualization software activates the shadow address mappings for the new execution environment. A similar approach, using separate mappings, may also be used to prevent software modules in one execution environment from accessing the private disk space or other secondary storage of another execution environment.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A computer system comprising:

system hardware including a system memory;
virtualization software supporting a virtual machine (VM) and a secure application execution environment, the virtualization software making a first portion of the system memory available for access within the VM and a second portion of the system memory available for access within the secure application execution environment;
guest software executing within the VM, the guest software including a guest operating system, a first software entity and a second software entity, wherein the first software entity and the second software entity are running on top of the guest operating system;
and
a third software entity executing within the secure application execution environment, wherein:
the virtualization software activates a first set of hardware address mappings that are used to map attempted guest virtual memory accesses to actual physical addresses in the first portion of the system memory when the first software entity executes within the VM;
the virtualization software activates a second set of hardware address mappings that are used to map attempted guest virtual memory accesses to actual physical addresses in the first portion of the system memory when the second software entity executes within the VM;
and
the virtualization software activates a third set of hardware address mappings that are used to map attempted guest virtual memory accesses to actual physical addresses in the second portion of the system memory when the third software entity executes within the secure application execution environment;
the third software entity is a secure application executing within the secure application execution environment, and
the second software entity that is executing within the VM, initiates the loading and execution of the secure application in the second portion of the system memory.

8 more elements

In a computer system comprising system hardware including a system memory, virtualization software supporting a virtual machine (VM) and a secure application execution environment, the virtualization software making a first portion of the system memory available for access within the VM and a second portion of the system memory available for access within the secure application execution environment, guest software executing within the VM, the guest software including a guest operating system, a first software entity and a second software entity, and a third software entity executing within the secure application execution environment, wherein the first software entity and the second software entity are running on top of the guest operating system, a method of isolating the secure application execution environment, the method comprising:

activating a first set of hardware address mappings that are used to map attempted guest virtual memory accesses to actual physical addresses in the first portion of the system memory when the first software entity executes within the VM;
activating a second set of hardware address mappings that are used to map attempted guest virtual memory accesses to actual physical addresses in the first portion of the system memory when the second software entity executes within the VM;
and
activating a third set of hardware address mappings that are used to map attempted guest virtual memory accesses to actual physical addresses in the second portion of the system memory when the third software entity executes within the secure application execution environment;
the third software entity is a secure application executing within the secure application execution environment, and
the second software entity that is executing within the VM, initiates the loading and execution of the secure application in the second portion of the system memory.

3 more elements

A computer program product embodied in a non-transitory computer readable storage medium, the computer program product containing instructions executable in a computer system comprising system hardware including a system memory, virtualization software supporting a virtual machine (VM) and a secure application execution environment, the virtualization software making a first portion of the system memory available for access within the VM and a second portion of the system memory available for access within the secure application execution environment, guest software executing within the VM, the guest software including a guest operating system, a first software entity and a second software entity, and a third software entity executing within the secure application execution environment, wherein the first software entity and the second software entity are running on top of the guest operating system, the computer program product performing a method of isolating the secure application execution environment, the method comprising:

activating a first set of hardware address mappings that are used to map attempted guest virtual memory accesses to actual physical addresses in the first portion of the system memory when the first software entity executes within the VM;
activating a second set of hardware address mappings that are used to map attempted guest virtual memory accesses to actual physical addresses in the first portion of the system memory when the second software entity executes within the VM;
and
activating a third set of hardware address mappings that are used to map attempted guest virtual memory accesses to actual physical addresses in the second portion of the system memory when the third software entity executes within the secure application execution environment;
the third software entity is a secure application executing within the secure application execution environment, and
the second software entity that is executing within the VM, initiates the loading and execution of the secure application in the second portion of the system memory.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 15/055,468Filed 26 Feb 2016 · continuation
Priority: 21 Oct 2005
Published: US 2016/0179564 A123 Jun 2016
Granted: 26 Mar 2019
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification9 codes

G06F 9/45558
Hypervisors; Virtual machine monitors: hypervisor-specific management and integration aspects
G06F 12/109
Address translation: for multiple virtual address spaces, e.g. segmentation
G06F 12/1491
By checking the subject access rights: in a hierarchical protection system, e.g. privilege levels, memory rings
G06F 2009/45583
Hypervisor-specific management and integration aspects: memory management, e.g. access or allocation

Family

Application60/729,185Us provisional application · filed 21 Oct 2005
Application11/584,178Parent of this continuation · filed 20 Oct 2006
US 2016/0179564 A1Pre-grant publication · published 23 Jun 2016
US 9,274,974 B1Parent of this continuation
US 10,241,819 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.