IP Library Granted Patent US 11,841,939
Granted Patent B2
US 11,841,939 · App. 17/456,768 · Granted Dec 12, 2023

Technologies for object-oriented memory management with extended segmentation

Inventors: Michael LeMay (Hillsboro, OR); Barry E. Huntley (Hillsboro, OR); Ravi Sahita (Portland, OR)
Assignee: INTEL CORPORATION
G06F21/53G06F9/5016G06F12/00G06F21/121G06F21/74G06F2221/033G06F2221/0713G06F2221/2113
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,841,939
App. No.
17/456,768
Granted
Dec 12, 2023
Kind
B2
Abstract

Technologies for memory management with memory protection extension include a computing device having a processor with one or more protection extensions. The processor may load a logical address including a segment base, effective limit, and effective address and generate a linear address as a function of the logical address with the effective limit as a mask. The processor may switch to a new task described by a task state segment extension. The task state extension may specify a low-latency segmentation mode. The processor may prohibit access to a descriptor in a local descriptor table with a descriptor privilege level lower than the current privilege level of the processor. The computing device may load a secure enclave using secure enclave support of the processor. The secure enclave may load an unsandbox and a sandboxed application in a user privilege level of the processor. Other embodiments are described and claimed.

Claims (41)

1. An apparatus comprising:

processor circuitry coupled to a memory, the processor circuitry to:

load, via software isolation manager circuitry, an unsandbox in a user privilege level of the processor;

load, via the unsandbox, a sandboxed application in the user privilege level;

store, via the unsandbox, an extended descriptor selector in a code segment register of the processor, wherein the extended descriptor selector references an extended descriptor of an extended descriptor table; and

execute the sandboxed application in response to enablement of an application sandbox mode of the processor, wherein the processor further comprises sandbox manager circuitry to enable the application sandbox mode in response to storage of the extended descriptor selector in the code segment register, and wherein to load the logical address comprises to load the logical address in response to execution of the sandboxed application.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the extended descriptor selector comprises a 32-bit value including a 15-bit protection domain identifier, an extended descriptor bit, and an extended descriptor offset.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the extended descriptor table comprises a hierarchical table having a first level and a second level, wherein the first level is indexed by the protection domain identifier of the extended descriptor selector and wherein the second level is indexed by the extended descriptor offset of the extended descriptor selector.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further to facilitate the sandbox manager circuitry to prohibit loading of a segment register of the processor with a legacy descriptor selector in response to the enablement of the application sandbox mode, wherein the legacy descriptor selector references a legacy descriptor of a local descriptor table or a global descriptor table.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the processor circuitry comprises one or more of application processor circuitry or graphics processor circuitry.

6. A method comprising:

loading, by a processor of a computing device, an unsandbox in a user privilege level of the processor;

loading, by the processor, a sandboxed application in the user privilege level;

storing, by the processor, an extended descriptor selector in a code segment register of the processor, wherein the extended descriptor selector references an extended descriptor of an extended descriptor table;

executing, by the processor, the sandboxed application in response to enablement of an application sandbox mode of the processor; and

enabling, by the processor, the application sandbox mode in response to storage of the extended descriptor selector in the code segment register, and wherein to load the logical address comprises to load the logical address in response to execution of the sandboxed application.

7. The method of claim 5 , wherein the extended descriptor selector comprises a 32-bit value including a 15-bit protection domain identifier, an extended descriptor bit, and an extended descriptor offset.

8. The method of claim 5 , wherein the extended descriptor table comprises a hierarchical table having a first level and a second level, wherein the first level is indexed by the protection domain identifier of the extended descriptor selector and wherein the second level is indexed by the extended descriptor offset of the extended descriptor selector.

9. The method of claim 5 , further comprising prohibiting, by the processor, loading of a segment register of the processor with a legacy descriptor selector in response to the enablement of the application sandbox mode, wherein the legacy descriptor selector references a legacy descriptor of a local descriptor table or a global descriptor table.

10. The method of claim 5 , wherein the processor comprises one or more of an application processor or a graphics processor.

11. At least one non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon instructions which, when executed, cause a computing device to perform operations comprising:

loading an unsandbox in a user privilege level of a processor of the computing device;

loading a sandboxed application in the user privilege level;

storing an extended descriptor selector in a code segment register of the processor, wherein the extended descriptor selector references an extended descriptor of an extended descriptor table;

executing the sandboxed application in response to enablement of an application sandbox mode of the processor; and

enabling the application sandbox mode in response to storage of the extended descriptor selector in the code segment register, and wherein to load the logical address comprises to load the logical address in response to execution of the sandboxed application.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9 , wherein the extended descriptor selector comprises a 32-bit value including a 15-bit protection domain identifier, an extended descriptor bit, and an extended descriptor offset.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9 , wherein the extended descriptor table comprises a hierarchical table having a first level and a second level, wherein the first level is indexed by the protection domain identifier of the extended descriptor selector and wherein the second level is indexed by the extended descriptor offset of the extended descriptor selector.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9 , wherein the operations further comprise prohibiting loading of a segment register of the processor with a legacy descriptor selector in response to the enablement of the application sandbox mode, wherein the legacy descriptor selector references a legacy descriptor of a local descriptor table or a global descriptor table.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11 , wherein the processor comprises one or more of an application processor or a graphics processor.

16. A data processing system comprising:

one or more processors;

a memory coupled to the one or more processors, the one or more processors to:

load an unsandbox in a user privilege level of the one or more processors;

load, via the unsandbox, a sandboxed application in the user privilege level;

store, via the unsandbox, an extended descriptor selector in a code segment register of the processor, wherein the extended descriptor selector references an extended descriptor of an extended descriptor table; and

execute the sandboxed application in response to enablement of an application sandbox mode of the processor, wherein the processor further comprises a sandbox manager circuitry to enable the application sandbox mode in response to storage of the extended descriptor selector in the code segment register, and wherein to load the logical address comprises to load the logical address in response to execution of the sandboxed application.

17. The data processing system of claim 13 , wherein the extended descriptor selector comprises a 32-bit value including a 15-bit protection domain identifier, an extended descriptor bit, and an extended descriptor offset.

18. The data processing system of claim 13 , wherein the extended descriptor table comprises a hierarchical table having a first level and a second level, wherein the first level is indexed by the protection domain identifier of the extended descriptor selector and wherein the second level is indexed by the extended descriptor offset of the extended descriptor selector.

19. The data processing system of claim 13 , wherein the processor is further to facilitate the sandbox manager circuitry to prohibit loading of a segment register of the processor with a legacy descriptor selector in response to the enablement of the application sandbox mode, wherein the legacy descriptor selector references a legacy descriptor of a local descriptor table or a global descriptor table.

20. The data processing system of claim 13 , wherein the one or more processors comprise one or more application processors or one or more graphics processors.

Continuity (4)
Continuation 17346757 · Jun 14, 2021
Continuation 16218908 · Dec 13, 2018
Continuation 15283317 · Oct 1, 2016
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