Granted Patent B2

US 12,499,212 · App. 17/555,043 · Granted Dec 16, 2025

Inventor: Dmitry Kasatkin (Helsinki, FI)

Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd.

G06F21/52G06F21/12G06F21/1062G06F2221/033

Abstract

Claims (69)

1 . An apparatus comprising a processor coupled to a non-volatile memory and a runtime memory, wherein the processor is configured to carry out a method comprising:

reading, from the non-volatile memory, a linked executable image and a randomization image, wherein the linked executable image comprises a linked executable program, and the randomization image comprises one or more tables taken from the group consisting of: a symbol table, a relocation table, and an object table;

loading the linked executable image within the runtime memory to generate a runtime program;

performing a runtime randomization on the runtime program to generate a randomized runtime program; and

executing the randomized runtime program,

wherein the performing the runtime randomization on the runtime program comprises:

copying a segment of the runtime program to a temporary location, wherein the copied segment comprises a plurality of relocatable objects; and

generating, after the copying the segment, the randomized runtime program by writing each relocatable object in the plurality of relocatable objects into the runtime program within the runtime memory at updated addresses based on a random ordering of the plurality of relocatable objects; and

performing relocations for the randomized runtime program, wherein the performing the relocations comprises updating addresses of the plurality of relocatable objects within the runtime memory to the updated addresses in the one or more tables taken from the group consisting of: the symbol table, the relocation table, and the object table;

wherein the method further comprises:

erasing, after the copying, the segment; and

initializing, after the erasing, the segment to random data or deliberately fake information; and

wherein the loading the linked executable image comprises:

generating a random offset value;

loading the runtime program based on the random offset value; and

updating a dynamic relocation table based on the random offset value.

2 . The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the segment comprises a plurality of segments and the plurality of segments comprises one or more of a text segment and a data segment, and the processor is configured to copy the plurality of segments to the temporary location.

3 . The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the linked executable image and the randomization image comprise a compressed data, and the processor is configured to read and decompress the compressed data.

4 . The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the plurality of relocatable objects comprises one or more of a compilation unit, a function, and a data object, and the processor is configured to write each relocatable object in the plurality of relocatable objects into the randomized runtime program based on the random ordering of the plurality of relocatable objects.

5 . The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the processor is configured to perform the runtime randomization within the context of a boot loader.

6 . The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the randomization image is embedded within the linked executable image and the processor is configured to read the linked executable image and the randomization image.

7 . The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the runtime program comprises a kernel and the processor is configured to perform the runtime randomization within the context of the kernel.

8 . The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the apparatus comprises a mobile communication device.

9 . A method comprising:

reading, from a non-volatile memory, a linked executable image and a randomization image, wherein the linked executable image comprises a linked executable program, and the randomization image comprises one or more tables taken from the group consisting of: a symbol table, a relocation table, and an object table;

loading the linked executable image within the runtime memory to generate a runtime program;

performing a runtime randomization on the runtime program to generate a randomized runtime program; and

executing the randomized runtime program,

wherein the performing the runtime randomization on the runtime program comprises:

copying a segment of the runtime program to a temporary location, wherein the copied segment comprises a plurality of relocatable objects; and

generating, after the copying the segment, the randomized runtime program by writing each relocatable object in the plurality of relocatable objects into the runtime program within the runtime memory at updated addresses based on a random ordering of the plurality of relocatable objects; and

performing relocations of the randomized runtime program, wherein the performing the relocations comprises updating addresses of the plurality of relocatable objects within the runtime memory to the updated addresses in the one or more tables taken from the group consisting of: the symbol table, the relocation table, and the object table;

wherein the method further includes:

erasing, after the copying, the segment; and

initializing, after the erasing, the segment to random data or deliberately fake information; and

wherein the loading the linked executable image comprises:

generating a random offset value;

loading the runtime program based on the random offset value; and

updating a dynamic relocation table based on the random offset value.

10 . The method of claim 9 wherein the segment comprises a plurality of segments and the plurality of segments comprises one or more of a text segment and a data segment, and the plurality of segments are copied to the temporary location.

11 . The method of claim 9 wherein the method is performed within a mobile communication device.

12 . A computer program product comprising non-transitory computer program instructions that when executed by a processor are configured to cause the processor to perform the method comprising:

reading, from a non-volatile memory, a linked executable image and a randomization image, wherein the linked executable image comprises a linked executable program, and the randomization image comprises one or more tables taken from the group consisting of: a symbol table, a relocation table, and an object table;

loading the linked executable image within the runtime memory to generate a runtime program;

performing a runtime randomization on the runtime program to generate a randomized runtime program; and

executing the randomized runtime program,

wherein the performing the runtime randomization on the runtime program comprises:

copying a segment of the runtime program to a temporary location, wherein the copied segment comprises a plurality of relocatable objects; and

generating, after the copying the segment, the randomized runtime program by writing each relocatable object in the plurality of relocatable objects into the runtime program within the runtime memory at updated addresses based on a random ordering of the plurality of relocatable objects; and

performing relocations of the randomized runtime program, wherein the performing the relocations comprises updating addresses of the plurality of relocatable objects within the runtime memory to the updated addresses in the one or more tables taken from the group consisting of: the symbol table, the relocation table, and the object table;

wherein the method further includes:

erasing, after the copying, the segment; and

initializing, after the erasing, the segment to random data or deliberately fake information; and

wherein the loading the linked executable image comprises:

generating a random offset value;

loading the runtime program based on the random offset value; and

updating a dynamic relocation table based on the random offset value.

13 . The computer program product of claim 12 , wherein the segment comprises a plurality of segments and the plurality of segments comprises one or more of a text segment and a data segment, and the plurality of segments are copied to the temporary location.

14 . The computer program product of claim 12 , wherein the linked executable image and the randomization image comprise a compressed data, and the processor is configured to read and decompress the compressed data.

15 . The computer program product of claim 12 , wherein the plurality of relocatable objects comprises one or more of a compilation unit, a function, and a data object, and the processor is configured to write each relocatable object in the plurality of relocatable objects into the randomized runtime program based on the random ordering of the plurality of relocatable objects.

16 . The computer program product of claim 12 , wherein the processor is configured to perform the runtime randomization within the context of a boot loader.

17 . The computer program product of claim 12 , wherein the randomization image is embedded within the linked executable image and the processor is configured to read the linked executable image and the randomization image.

18 . The computer program product of claim 12 , wherein the runtime program comprises a kernel and the processor is configured to perform the runtime randomization within the context of the kernel.

19 . The computer program product of claim 12 , wherein the method is performed in a mobile communication device.

20 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the linked executable image and the randomization image comprise a compressed data, and the processor is configured to read and decompress the compressed data.

21 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the plurality of relocatable objects comprises one or more of a compilation unit, a function, and a data object, and the processor is configured to write each relocatable object in the plurality of relocatable objects into the randomized runtime program based on the random ordering of the plurality of relocatable objects.

22 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the processor is configured to perform the runtime randomization within the context of a boot loader.

23 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the randomization image is embedded within the linked executable image and the processor is configured to read the linked executable image and the randomization image.

24 . The method of claim 9 , wherein the runtime program comprises a kernel and the processor is configured to perform the runtime randomization within the context of the kernel.

Assignments (1)

Continuity (2)

References Cited (19)