Sealing OS processes to improve dependability and safety
Galen C. Hunt, Mark Aiken, Manuel A. Fähndrich, Chris Hawblitzel, Orion Hodson, James R. Larus, Steven Levi, Bjarne Steensgaard, David Tarditi, Ted Wobber · 2007
In most modern operating systems, a process is a hardware-protected abstraction for isolating code and data. This protection, however, is selective. Many common mechanisms---dynamic code loading, run-time code generation, shared memory, and intrusive system APIs---make the barrier between processes very permeable. This paper argues that this traditional open process architecture exacerbates the dependability and security weaknesses of modern systems.