Towards Secure and Reliable Runtime Patching for Cyber-Physical Systems in Industrial Networks
Zesheng Xi, Bo Zhang, Yunfan Wang, Chuan He · Preprints.org · 2025
Embedded control devices within power system communication infrastructures are increasingly vulnerable to cyber threats due to escalating software complexity and pervasive network exposure. Conventional patching mechanisms—whether static or dynamic—often fail to reconcile the competing demands of real-time responsiveness and computational efficiency in resource-constrained environments typical of power grids. To tackle this issue, we propose a hardware-assisted runtime patching framework tailored for embedded systems in critical power system networks. Our method integrates binary-level vulnerability modeling, execution-trace-driven fault localization, and lightweight patch synthesis, enabling dynamic, in-place code redirection without disrupting ongoing operations. By constructing a system-level instruction flow model, the framework leverages on-chip debug registers to deploy patches at runtime, ensuring minimal operational impact. Experimental evaluations within a simulated substation communication architecture reveal that the proposed approach reduces patch latency by 92% over static techniques, while incurring less than 3% CPU overhead. This study offers a scalable and real-time model-driven defense strategy that enhances the cyber-physical resilience of embedded systems in modern power systems, contributing new insights into the intersection of runtime security and grid infrastructure reliability.