IP Library Granted Patent US 11,507,667
Granted Patent B2
US 11,507,667 · App. 16/910,539 · Granted Nov 22, 2022

Firmware password management

Inventors: Evgeniy Sayapin (Austin, TX); Stephanie Bauman (Austin, TX); Neeraj Saluja (Round Rock, TX)
Assignee: VMware, Inc.
G06F21/572G06F8/71G06F21/31G06F21/46G06F2221/2131
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,507,667
App. No.
16/910,539
Granted
Nov 22, 2022
Kind
B2
Abstract

Disclosed are various examples for managing firmware passwords, such as BIOS passwords. A password reset command can be generated and transmitted to a client device. A management agent can execute the command and provide confirmation to a management service that the password has been updated.

Claims (57)

1. A system, comprising:

a computing device comprising a processor and a memory; and

machine-readable instructions stored in the memory which, when executed by the processor, cause the computing device to at least:

enroll a client device as a managed device among a plurality of managed devices that are managed by a management service;

obtain a request to update a basic input output service (BIOS) password on the client device;

generate a new BIOS password for the client device;

obtain an applied password corresponding to the client device, the applied password stored in a device record associated with the client device, the device record being stored in a data store associated with the management service;

generate a command to perform a password reset, the command comprising the new BIOS password and the applied password;

transmit the command to the client device, wherein a management agent on the client device performs the password reset within the BIOS of the client device; and

store the new BIOS password in the device record as a submitted password corresponding to the client device.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the machine-readable instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the computing device to at least:

obtain a password reset confirmation from the management agent executed by the client device, the management agent configured to execute management commands provided by a management service managing the client device.

3. The system of claim 2 , wherein the machine-readable instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the computing device to at least:

store the new BIOS password as a submitted password in the device record; and

overwrite the applied password corresponding to the client device in the device record in response to receiving the password reset confirmation from the client device.

4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the request comprises a request to update the BIOS password on a plurality of the managed devices and the new BIOS password comprises one of a plurality of randomly generated new BIOS passwords generated for the plurality of managed devices.

5. The system of claim 1 , wherein the machine-readable instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the computing device to at least:

obtain an indication that at least one BIOS setting on the client device has changed; and

automatically generate the request to update the BIOS password in response to obtaining the indication.

6. The system of claim 5 , wherein the indication is obtained in response to a trusted platform module (TPM) chip on the client device indicating that a value indicating a state of the BIOS has changed.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the command is generated in response to the BIOS being updated to a different version.

8. A non-transitory computer-readable medium embodying executable instructions which, when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to at least:

enroll a client device as a managed device among a plurality of managed devices that are managed by a management service;

obtain a request to update a basic input output service (BIOS) password on the client device;

generate a new BIOS password for the client device;

obtain an applied password corresponding to the client device, the applied password stored in a device record associated with the client device, the device record being stored in a data store associated with the management service;

generate a command to perform a password reset, the command comprising the new BIOS password and the applied password;

transmit the command to the client device, wherein a management agent on the client device performs the password reset within the BIOS of the client device; and

store the new BIOS password in the device record as a submitted password corresponding to the client device.

9. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8 , further comprising executable instructions which, when executed by the computing device, further cause the computing device to at least:

obtain a password reset confirmation from the management agent executed by the client device, the management agent configured to execute management commands provided by a management service managing the client device.

10. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9 , further comprising executable instructions which, when executed by the computing device, further cause the computing device to at least:

store the new BIOS password as a submitted password in the device record; and

overwrite the applied password corresponding to the client device in the device record in response to receiving the password reset confirmation from the client device.

11. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8 , wherein the request comprises a request to update the BIOS password on a plurality of the managed devices and the new BIOS password comprises one of a plurality of randomly generated new BIOS passwords generated for the plurality of managed devices.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8 , further comprising executable instructions which, when executed by the computing device, further cause the at least one computing device to at least:

obtain an indication that at least one BIOS setting on the client device has changed; and

automatically generate the request to update the BIOS password in response to obtaining the indication.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12 , wherein the indication is obtained in response to a trusted platform module (TPM) chip on the client device indicating that a value indicating a state of the BIOS has changed.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 8 , wherein the command is generated in response to the BIOS being updated to a different version.

15. A method, comprising:

enrolling a client device as a managed device among a plurality of managed devices that are managed by a management service;

obtaining a request to update a basic input output service (BIOS) password on the client device;

generating a new BIOS password for the client device;

obtaining an applied password corresponding to the client device, the applied password stored in a device record associated with the client device, the device record being stored in a data store associated with the management service;

generating a command to perform a password reset, the command comprising the new BIOS password and the applied password;

transmitting the command to the client device, wherein a management agent on the client device performs the password reset within the BIOS of the client device; and

storing the new BIOS password in the device record as a submitted password corresponding to the client device.

16. The method of claim 15 , further comprising obtaining a password reset confirmation from the management agent executed by the client device, the management agent configured to execute management commands provided by a management service managing the client device.

17. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:

storing the new BIOS password as a submitted password in the device record; and

overwriting the applied password corresponding to the client device in the device record in response to receiving the password reset confirmation from the client device.

18. The method of claim 15 , wherein the request comprises a request to update the BIOS password on a plurality of the managed devices and the new BIOS password comprises one of a plurality of randomly generated new BIOS passwords generated for the plurality of managed devices.

19. The method of claim 15 , further comprising:

obtaining an indication that at least one BIOS setting on the client device has changed; and

automatically generating the request to update the BIOS password in response to obtaining the indication.

20. The method of claim 19 , wherein the indication is obtained in response to a trusted platform module (TPM) chip on the client device indicating that a value indicating a state of the BIOS has changed.

Assignments (4)
PATENT ASSIGNMENT Recorded Aug 5, 2024
From: VMWARE LLC
To: OMNISSA, LLC
Reel/Frame 068327/0365 →
SECURITY INTEREST Recorded Jul 3, 2024
From: OMNISSA, LLC
To: UBS AG, STAMFORD BRANCH
Reel/Frame 068118/0004 →
CHANGE OF NAME Recorded Apr 15, 2024
From: VMWARE, INC.
To: VMWARE LLC
Reel/Frame 067102/0395 →
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Jul 23, 2020
From: BAUMAN, STEPHANIE; SALUJA, NEERAJ; SAYAPIN, EVGENIY
To: VMWARE, INC.
Reel/Frame 053288/0960 →