Importance

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Abstract

This document discloses aspects of function call authorization for program flow control. In some aspects, a processor encounters a first instruction to initiate or call a function. The processor compares an immediate value of a second instruction at an entry point of the function to a function call authorization value stored in a register. In response to the immediate value of the second instruction matching the function call authorization value stored in the register the process transfers control flow to the function. Alternatively, if the values do not match, an exception or fault may be raised to halt execution of the function or other code. By so doing, these and other aspects of function call authorization may prevent fault injection attacks, execution of unauthorized instructions, or access to sensitive data.

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First Claim