Proving the Absence of Microarchitectural Timing Channels

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2310.17046v1
• Date: Wed, 25 Oct 2023 22:52:37 GMT
• Title: Proving the Absence of Microarchitectural Timing Channels
• Authors: Scott Buckley, Robert Sison, Nils Wistoff, Curtis Millar, Toby Murray, Gerwin Klein, Gernot Heiser,
• Abstract summary: A set of OS mechanisms called time protection was recently proposed as a principled way of preventing information leakage through such channels. We formalise time protection and the underlying hardware mechanisms in a way that allows linking them to the information-flow proofs that showed the absence of storage channels in seL4.
• Score: 0.6282171844772422
• License: http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/
• Abstract: Microarchitectural timing channels are a major threat to computer security. A set of OS mechanisms called time protection was recently proposed as a principled way of preventing information leakage through such channels and prototyped in the seL4 microkernel. We formalise time protection and the underlying hardware mechanisms in a way that allows linking them to the information-flow proofs that showed the absence of storage channels in seL4.

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