Codasip, a German processor design company, has made a significant contribution to the chip security consortium CHERI Alliance by donating its latest RISC-V software development kit. This donation aims to assist developers in enhancing memory safety in chips, a critical aspect of chip security.
RISC-V is an instruction set architecture (ISA) that offers developers and manufacturers the flexibility to customize silicon chips to meet specific requirements in various industries, including smartphones, space technologies, industrial applications, and automotive technologies. The open and free licensing of RISC-V allows anyone to design, manufacture, and sell RISC-V chips and software, fostering innovation and competition in the chip industry.
The CHERI Alliance focuses on extending ISA to manage memory access control, aiming to prevent common vulnerabilities such as buffer overflows and memory corruption. By isolating hardware and software components, the CHERI technology prevents adversaries from injecting malicious code into memory, enhancing overall security in hardware systems.
To support developers in implementing CHERI technology on RISC-V chips, Codasip has developed and donated an SDK to the CHERI Alliance. This SDK includes essential tools and packages that are crucial for developers working with CHERI technology. The compiler in the SDK is capable of generating modified instructions necessary for incorporating CHERI capabilities into RISC-V chips. Moreover, the SDK is freely available on GitHub, ensuring accessibility and ease of use for developers.
The SDK provided by Codasip includes key components such as a C/C++ compiler and toolchain based on LLVM17, the QEMU open-source emulator, the OpenSBI implementation of the RISC-V Supervisor Binary Interface, the Yocto build system for Linux, and a basic user space environment based on Busybox. These tools and packages streamline the development process for incorporating memory safety features into RISC-V chips, ultimately enhancing the security and reliability of hardware systems.
Codasip CEO Ron Black emphasized the importance of making CHERI technology readily available in real systems to address the increasing security concerns faced by organizations and governments. By offering a comprehensive Linux-capable SDK, Codasip aims to accelerate the adoption of CHERI technology and promote its use across diverse hardware systems. The company’s commitment to open access and collaboration underscores its dedication to advancing chip security and driving innovation in the industry.
In conclusion, Codasip’s donation of the RISC-V software development kit to the CHERI Alliance represents a significant milestone in the field of chip security. By empowering developers with essential tools and resources, Codasip is contributing to the advancement of memory safety capabilities in hardware systems, reinforcing the importance of security in the ever-evolving technological landscape.