Patents by Inventor Ahmed Azab

Ahmed Azab has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 11120130
    Abstract: An apparatus and a method for protecting kernel control-flow integrity using static binary instrumentation are provided. The method includes configuring a compiler to reserve a register in a processor, compiling source code into a binary based on the configured compiler, and modifying the binary to prevent exploits using the reserved register, wherein the reserved register stores a first encryption key for encrypting and decrypting return addresses. The reserved register stores an encryption key that is used to encrypt and decrypt return addresses to prevent control flow exploits.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 14, 2021
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: James Gleeson, Ahmed Azab, Wenbo Shen, Rohan Bhutkar
  • Publication number: 20190228149
    Abstract: An apparatus and a method for protecting kernel control-flow integrity using static binary instrumentation are provided. The method includes configuring a compiler to reserve a register in a processor, compiling source code into a binary based on the configured compiler, and modifying the binary to prevent exploits using the reserved register, wherein the reserved register stores a first encryption key for encrypting and decrypting return addresses. The reserved register stores an encryption key that is used to encrypt and decrypt return addresses to prevent control flow exploits.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 28, 2019
    Publication date: July 25, 2019
    Inventors: James GLEESON, Ahmed AZAB, Wenbo SHEN, Rohan BHUTKAR
  • Patent number: 10289842
    Abstract: An apparatus and a method for protecting kernel control-flow integrity using static binary instrumentation are provided. The method includes configuring a compiler to reserve a register in a processor, compiling source code into a binary based on the configured compiler, and modifying the binary to prevent exploits using the reserved register, wherein the reserved register stores a first encryption key for encrypting and decrypting return addresses. The reserved register stores an encryption key that is used to encrypt and decrypt return addresses to prevent control flow exploits.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 14, 2019
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: James Gleeson, Ahmed Azab, Wenbo Shen, Rohan Bhutkar
  • Patent number: 9984255
    Abstract: A method for verifying data integrity of a block device is provided. The method includes providing a secure world execution environment configured to monitor changes to data blocks of a block device, within the secure world execution environment, generating a hash for changed data blocks of the block device, and within the secure world execution environment, verifying and generating a cryptographic signature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 2015
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2018
    Assignee: SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Jitesh Shah, Song Wei, Ahmed Azab, Xun Chen, Peng Ning, Wenbo Shen, Michael Grace
  • Patent number: 9772953
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for protecting kernel data integrity in an electronic device are provided. The method includes mapping a specified type of data to a read-only memory area, detecting a write attempt to the specified type of data, determining whether a process attempting to write to the specified type of data is permitted according to a specified condition, and allowing the write attempt if the process attempting to write to the specified type of data satisfies the specified condition.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 30, 2015
    Date of Patent: September 26, 2017
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Quan Chen, Ahmed Azab, Peng Ning, Guruprasad Ganesh
  • Publication number: 20170140148
    Abstract: An apparatus and a method for protecting kernel control-flow integrity using static binary instrumentation are provided. The method includes configuring a compiler to reserve a register in a processor, compiling source code into a binary based on the configured compiler, and modifying the binary to prevent exploits using the reserved register, wherein the reserved register stores a first encryption key for encrypting and decrypting return addresses. The reserved register stores an encryption key that is used to encrypt and decrypt return addresses to prevent control flow exploits.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 1, 2016
    Publication date: May 18, 2017
    Inventors: James GLEESON, Ahmed AZAB, Wenbo SHEN, Rohan BHUTKAR
  • Patent number: 9483635
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and computer readable media for active monitoring, memory protection, and integrity verification of a target device are disclosed. For example, a normal world virtual processor and a secure world virtual processor are instantiated on a target device. A target operating system is executed on the normal world virtual processor. An integrity verification agent is executed on the secure world virtual processor. One or more predetermined operations attempted on the normal world virtual processor are trapped to the secure world virtual processor. The integrity verification agent is used to determine the effect of the execution of the trapped operations on the target device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 1, 2016
    Assignee: NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY
    Inventors: Ahmed Azab, Peng Ning
  • Publication number: 20160092701
    Abstract: A method for verifying data integrity of a block device is provided. The method includes providing a secure world execution environment configured to monitor changes to data blocks of a block device, within the secure world execution environment, generating a hash for changed data blocks of the block device, and within the secure world execution environment, verifying and generating a cryptographic signature.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 10, 2015
    Publication date: March 31, 2016
    Inventors: Jitesh Shah, Song Wei, Ahmed Azab, Xun Chen, Peng Ning, Wenbo Shen, Michael Grace
  • Publication number: 20150220455
    Abstract: An apparatus and method for protecting kernel data integrity in an electronic device are provided. The method includes mapping a specified type of data to a read-only memory area, detecting a write attempt to the specified type of data, determining whether a process attempting to write to the specified type of data is permitted according to a specified condition, and allowing the write attempt if the process attempting to write to the specified type of data satisfies the specified condition.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 30, 2015
    Publication date: August 6, 2015
    Inventors: Quan CHEN, Ahmed AZAB, Peng NING, Guruprasad GANESH
  • Publication number: 20150199507
    Abstract: Methods, systems, and computer readable media for active monitoring, memory protection, and integrity verification of a target device are disclosed. For example, a normal world virtual processor and a secure world virtual processor are instantiated on a target device. A target operating system is executed on the normal world virtual processor. An integrity verification agent is executed on the secure world virtual processor. One or more predetermined operations attempted on the normal world virtual processor are trapped to the secure world virtual processor. The integrity verification agent is used to determine the effect of the execution of the trapped operations on the target device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 15, 2013
    Publication date: July 16, 2015
    Inventors: Ahmed Azab, Peng Ning