Systems and methods for detection of firmware image corruption and initiation of recovery

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10353779-B2
Application number	US-201715587737-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 5, 2017
Priority date	May 5, 2017
Publication date	Jul 16, 2019
Grant date	Jul 16, 2019

Abstract

In accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, an information handling system may include a host system comprising a host system processor and a device coupled to the host system processor. The information handling system may also include a management controller communicatively coupled to the host system processor and configured to provide management of the information handling system via management traffic communicated between the management controller and a network external to the information handling system and perform runtime verification of a firmware image of the management controller by responsive to each particular read request of the firmware image during runtime of the firmware, verifying integrity of a respective block of the read request and responsive to determining the respective block is corrupted, causing a bootloader of the firmware to, on a subsequent boot of the firmware image, perform recovery of the firmware image.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An information handling system comprising:
a host system comprising:
a host system processor; and
a device coupled to the host system processor; and

an information handling resource communicatively coupled to the host system processor and configured to perform runtime verification of a firmware image of a firmware of the information handling resource by:
receiving information specifying an amount of time as a desired verification period;
verifying integrity of respective blocks of the firmware image according to a schedule that is based on a total number of blocks to be verified and further based on the specified amount of time; and
responsive to determining the respective block is corrupted, causing a bootloader of the firmware to, on a subsequent boot of the firmware image, perform recovery of the firmware image.

2. The information handling system of claim 1 , wherein verifying integrity of each respective block comprises comparing the respective block with a build-time hash of the firmware image.

3. The information handling system of claim 1 , wherein causing the bootloader of the firmware to perform recovery of the firmware image comprises setting a variable readable by the bootloader to indicate that the firmware image is corrupted.

4. The information handling system of claim 1 , wherein the bootloader is configured to perform recovery of the firmware image by loading and executing a firmware backup image in lieu of the firmware image during the subsequent boot.

5. The information handling system of claim 1 , wherein the bootloader is further configured to:
during a boot session, verify integrity of the bootloader; and
responsive to determining the respective block is corrupted, load and execute a firmware backup image in lieu of the firmware image during the same boot session.

6. The information handling system of claim 1 , wherein the bootloader is further configured to:
during a boot session, verify integrity of a file system of the firmware image; and
responsive to determining the file system is corrupted, load and execute a firmware backup image in lieu of the firmware image during the same boot session.

7. The information handling system of claim 1 , wherein the information handling resource comprises a management controller communicatively coupled to the host system processor and configured to provide management of the information handling system via management traffic communicated between the management controller and a network external to the information handling system.

8. A method for performing runtime verification of a firmware image of a firmware by:
receiving information specifying an amount of time as a desired verification period;
verifying integrity of respective blocks of the firmware image according to a schedule that is based on a total number of blocks to be verified and further based on the specified amount of time; and
responsive to determining the respective block is corrupted, causing a bootloader of the firmware to, on a subsequent boot of the firmware image, perform recovery of the firmware image.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein verifying integrity of each respective block comprises comparing the respective block with a build-time hash of the firmware image.

10. The method of claim 8 , wherein causing the bootloader of the firmware to perform recovery of the firmware image comprises setting a variable readable by the bootloader to indicate that the firmware image is corrupted.

11. The method of claim 8 , wherein the bootloader performs recovery of the firmware image by loading and executing a firmware backup image in lieu of the firmware image during the subsequent boot.

12. The method of claim 8 , wherein the bootloader is further configured to:
during a boot session, verify integrity of the bootloader; and
responsive to determining the respective block is corrupted, load and execute a firmware backup image in lieu of the firmware image during the same boot session.

13. The method of claim 8 , wherein the bootloader is further configured to:
during a boot session, verify integrity of a file system of the firmware image; and
responsive to determining the file system is corrupted, load and execute a firmware backup image in lieu of the firmware image during the same boot session.

14. An article of manufacture comprising:
a non-transitory computer-readable medium; and
computer-executable instructions carried on the computer-readable medium, the instructions readable by a processor, the instructions, when read and executed, for causing the processor to perform runtime verification of a firmware image of a firmware by:
receiving information specifying an amount of time as a desired verification period;
verifying integrity of respective blocks of the firmware image according to a schedule that is based on a total number of blocks to be verified and further based on the specified amount of time; and
responsive to determining the respective block is corrupted, causing a bootloader of the firmware to, on a subsequent boot of the firmware image, perform recovery of the firmware image.

15. The article of claim 14 , wherein verifying integrity of each respective block comprises comparing the respective block with a build-time hash of the firmware image.

16. The article of claim 14 , wherein causing the bootloader of the firmware to perform recovery of the firmware image comprises setting a variable readable by the bootloader to indicate that the firmware image is corrupted.

17. The article of claim 14 , wherein the bootloader performs recovery of the firmware image by loading and executing a firmware backup image in lieu of the firmware image during the subsequent boot.

18. The article of claim 14 , wherein the bootloader is further configured to:
during a boot session, verify integrity of the bootloader; and
responsive to determining the respective block is corrupted, load and execute a firmware backup image in lieu of the firmware image during the same boot session.

19. The article of claim 14 , wherein the bootloader is further configured to:
during a boot session, verify integrity of a file system of the firmware image; and
responsive to determining the file system is corrupted, load and execute a firmware backup image in lieu of the firmware image during the same boot session.

Assignees

• Dell Products Lp

Inventors

• Sharma Piyush
• Cho Eugene David
• Vetteth Kiran George
• Somarouthu Murali K
• Brown Michael Emery
• Brelsford Brian L

Classifications

• G06F11/3612

  by runtime analysis (performance monitoring G06F11/3466) · CPC title

• G06F21/572

  Secure firmware programming, e.g. of basic input output system [BIOS] · CPC title

• G06F11/1469

  Backup restoration techniques · CPC title

• G06F11/1451

  by selection of backup contents · CPC title

• G06F11/1417 Primary

  Boot up procedures · CPC title