We will shortly describe the overall topic of Kernel Dependability & Assurance MC and where we see how the topics in the MC agenda fit to this larger table. If there is a bit of time, we can align among speakers and the audience this common understanding on the large scope of the two terms, dependability and assurance.
Understanding the Linux kernel source code requires understanding the role played by different entities. An interesting example is the case of structures of type list_head. Some are actually heads of lists. Others are inlined inside of list elements. Documentation about which are which, and which heads are connected to which elements, is not systematic. We have developed a tool, Liliput,...
Thread Control Block (TCB) is a data structure in the Linux kernel which contains thread-specific information needed to manage it.
The Thread Control Block acts as a library of information about the threads in the system.
TCB is being manipulated by the kernel constantly, while the thread is being executed and while it is switched out.
Assuring the integrity of the TCB is critical to...
A process running a safety critical function needs to be free from any interference. One source of this interference comes from are interruptions to the program flow from either synchronous events like system calls, or asynchronous events such as interrupts.
This talk details the sources of such events; the hazards that are associated with them, and some of the ways in which these may be...
Key question: Can system calls be regarded as independent and consequently tested individually rather than in some form of use-case specific call sequence?
The kernel has a set of asynchronously operated state machines, e.g., RCU, buddy-system, ratelimits of all sorts, that cause a repeated identical system call to take different paths in consecutive invocations. The model thus is that the...
Let's discuss proactive and reactive approaches to Linux Kernel dependability. We all care about keeping our data safe and systems secure. We counter security attacks using fuzzers and other test tools to identify vulnerabilities and hardening the code base.
How can we ensure we aren't introducing new problems?
Regression testing and continuous fuzzing helps in finding regressions and...
