System and method for efficient secured startup of data processing systems

A non-transitory machine-readable medium having instructions stored therein, which when executed by a processor, cause a data processing system to perform operations, the operations comprising:

• identifying a startup of the data processing system;
• during a secure phase of the startup, identifying that the startup is a specialized startup;
• based on the startup being a specialized startup:
• obtaining first security information prior to exiting the secure phase of the startup;
• obtaining specialized firmware for the startup;
• obtaining second security information for the specialized firmware;
• and
• making a determination regarding whether the specialized firmware is valid using the first security information and the second security information;
• in a first instance of the determination where the specialized firmware is valid:
• handing off control of the data processing system to the specialized firmware to complete the startup;
• in a second instance of the determination where the specialized firmware is not valid:
• remediating the startup without using the specialized firmware to complete the startup.

A data processing system, comprising:

• a management controller;
• a processor;
• and
• a memory coupled to the processor to store instructions, which when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations, the operations comprising:
• identifying a startup of the data processing system;
• during a secure phase of the startup, identifying that the startup is a specialized startup;
• based on the startup being a specialized startup:
• obtaining first security information prior to exiting the secure phase of the startup;
• obtaining specialized firmware for the startup;
• obtaining second security information for the specialized firmware;
• and
• making a determination regarding whether the specialized firmware is valid using the first security information and the second security information;
• in a first instance of the determination where the specialized firmware is valid:
• handing off control of the data processing system to the specialized firmware to complete the startup;
• in a second instance of the determination where the specialized firmware is not valid:
• remediating the startup without using the specialized firmware to complete the startup.