# US 2018/0322012 A1 · Systems and methods for detection of firmware image corruption and initiation of recovery > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2018/0322012 A1 - Document ID: US20180322012A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 15/587,737 - Filed: 2017-05-05 - Published: 2018-11-08 - Earliest claimed: 2017-05-05 - Assignees: Dell Products L.P. - Applicants: Dell Products L.P. - Inventors: Piyush SHARMA; Eugene David CHO; Kiran George VETTETH; Murali K. SOMAROUTHU; Michael Emery BROWN; Brian L. BRELSFORD - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20180322012A1 ## CPC - G06F 11/1417: {Boot up procedures} - G06F 9/4401: Bootstrapping (security arrangements therefor G06F21/57) - G06F 11/0793: {Remedial or corrective actions (recovery from an exception in an instruction pipeline G06F9/3861; by retry G06F11/1402; for recovering from a failure of a protocol instance or entity H04L69/40)} - G06F 11/1451: {by selection of backup contents} - G06F 11/1469: {Backup restoration techniques} - G06F 11/3604: Analysis of software for verifying properties of programs (testing of software G06F11/3668) - G06F 11/3612: {by runtime analysis (performance monitoring G06F11/3466)} - G06F 21/572: {Secure firmware programming, e.g. of basic input output system [BIOS]} - G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N) ## Abstract In accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, an information handling system may include a host system comprising a host system processor and a device coupled to the host system processor. The information handling system may also include a management controller communicatively coupled to the host system processor and configured to provide management of the information handling system via management traffic communicated between the management controller and a network external to the information handling system and perform runtime verification of a firmware image of the management controller by responsive to each particular read request of the firmware image during runtime of the firmware, verifying integrity of a respective block of the read request and responsive to determining the respective block is corrupted, causing a bootloader of the firmware to, on a subsequent boot of the firmware image, perform recovery of the firmware image. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An information handling system comprising: a host system comprising: a host system processor; and a device coupled to the host system processor; and an information handling resource communicatively coupled to the host system processor and configured to perform runtime verification of a firmware image of the information handling resource by: responsive to each particular read request of the firmware image during runtime of the firmware, verifying integrity of a respective block of the read request; and responsive to determining the respective block is corrupted, causing a bootloader of the firmware to, on a subsequent boot of the firmware image, perform recovery of the firmware image. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The information handling system of claim 1, wherein verifying integrity of the respective block of the read request comprises comparing the respective block with a build-time hash of the firmware image. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The information handling system of claim 1, wherein causing the bootloader of the firmware to perform recovery of the firmware image comprises setting a variable readable by the bootloader to indicate that the firmware image is corrupted. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The information handling system of claim 1, wherein the bootloader performs recovery of the firmware image by loading and executing a firmware backup image in lieu of the firmware image during the subsequent boot. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The information handling system of claim 1, wherein the bootloader is further configured to: during a boot session, verify integrity of the bootloader; and responsive to determining the respective block is corrupted, load and execute a firmware backup image in lieu of the firmware image during the same boot session. ### Claim 6 (depends on 1) The information handling system of claim 1, wherein the bootloader is further configured to: during a boot session, verify integrity of a file system of the firmware image; and responsive to determining the file system is corrupted, load and execute a firmware backup image in lieu of the firmware image during the same boot session. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The information handling system of claim 1, wherein the information handling resource comprises a management controller communicatively coupled to the host system processor and configured to provide management of the information handling system via management traffic communicated between the management controller and a network external to the information handling system. ### Claim 8 A method for performing runtime verification of a firmware image by: responsive to each particular read request of the firmware image during runtime of the firmware, verifying integrity of a respective block of the read request; and responsive to determining the respective block is corrupted, causing a bootloader of the firmware to, on a subsequent boot of the firmware image, perform recovery of the firmware image. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The method of claim 8, wherein verifying integrity of the respective block of the read request comprises comparing the respective block with a build-time hash of the firmware image. ### Claim 10 (depends on 8) The method of claim 8, wherein causing the bootloader of the firmware to perform recovery of the firmware image comprises setting a variable readable by the bootloader to indicate that the firmware image is corrupted. ### Claim 11 (depends on 8) The method of claim 8, wherein the bootloader performs recovery of the firmware image by loading and executing a firmware backup image in lieu of the firmware image during the subsequent boot. ### Claim 12 (depends on 8) The method of claim 8, wherein the bootloader is further configured to: during a boot session, verify integrity of the bootloader; and responsive to determining the respective block is corrupted, load and execute a firmware backup image in lieu of the firmware image during the same boot session. ### Claim 13 (depends on 8) The method of claim 8, wherein the bootloader is further configured to: during a boot session, verify integrity of a file system of the firmware image; and responsive to determining the file system is corrupted, load and execute a firmware backup image in lieu of the firmware image during the same boot session. ### Claim 14 An article of manufacture comprising: a non-transitory computer-readable medium; and computer-executable instructions carried on the computer-readable medium, the instructions readable by a processor, the instructions, when read and executed, for causing the processor to perform runtime verification of a firmware image by: responsive to each particular read request of the firmware image during runtime of the firmware, verifying integrity of a respective block of the read request; and responsive to determining the respective block is corrupted, causing a bootloader of the firmware to, on a subsequent boot of the firmware image, perform recovery of the firmware image. ### Claim 15 (depends on 14) The article of claim 14, wherein verifying integrity of the respective block of the read request comprises comparing the respective block with a build-time hash of the firmware image. ### Claim 16 (depends on 14) The article of claim 14, wherein causing the bootloader of the firmware to perform recovery of the firmware image comprises setting a variable readable by the bootloader to indicate that the firmware image is corrupted. ### Claim 17 (depends on 14) The article of claim 14, wherein the bootloader performs recovery of the firmware image by loading and executing a firmware backup image in lieu of the firmware image during the subsequent boot. ### Claim 18 (depends on 14) The article of claim 14, wherein the bootloader is further configured to: during a boot session, verify integrity of the bootloader; and responsive to determining the respective block is corrupted, load and execute a firmware backup image in lieu of the firmware image during the same boot session. ### Claim 19 (depends on 14) The article of claim 14, wherein the bootloader is further configured to: during a boot session, verify integrity of a file system of the firmware image; and responsive to determining the file system is corrupted, load and execute a firmware backup image in lieu of the firmware image during the same boot session.