Memory-safe microcontroller applications with the Bedrock structured programming system
Name
930611809-MIT.pdf
Description
Full printable version
Size
364.6 KB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
8d6bc240147a2ed79c3c55368fdc6c51
Author(s)
Barenblat, Benjamin Ezra
Advisor(s)
Adam Chlipala.
Date Issued
2015
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
Microcontrollers - low-power, real-mode CPUS - drive digital electronics all over the world, making their safety and reliability critical. However, microcontrollers generally lack the memory protection common in desktop processors, so memory safety must come through other means. One such mechanism is Bedrock, a library for the Coq proof assistant that applies separation logic to a small c-like language, allowing programmers to prove memory-related properties about their code. I used Bedrock to build a security peripheral out of a Cortex-m3 microcontroller; my peripheral provides both AES encryption and append-only logging to a host system, and I showed the software it runs is memory-safe. Working with Bedrock was challenging but rewarding, and it provides a glimpse into a future where system programmers can prove code correct as a matter of course.
Description
Thesis: M. Eng., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2015.
This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.
Cataloged from student-submitted PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 71-72).
Subjects
Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Terms of Use
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