Exception-Driven Security: A Risk-Aware Permission Adjustment for High-Availability Embedded Systems

Mina Soltani Siapoush and Jim Alves-Foss ()
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Mina Soltani Siapoush: Center for Secure and Dependable Systems (CSDS), University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83844, USA
Jim Alves-Foss: Center for Secure and Dependable Systems (CSDS), University of Idaho, Moscow, ID 83844, USA

Mathematics, 2025, vol. 13, issue 20, 1-24

Abstract: Real-time operating systems (RTOSs) are widely used in embedded systems to ensure deterministic task execution, predictable responses, and concurrent operations, which are crucial for time-sensitive applications. However, the growing complexity of embedded systems, increased network connectivity, and dynamic software updates significantly expand the attack surface, exposing RTOSs to a variety of security threats, including memory corruption, privilege escalation, and side-channel attacks. Traditional security mechanisms often impose additional overhead that can compromise real-time guarantees. In this work, we present a Risk-aware Permission Adjustment (RPA) framework, implemented on CHERIoT RTOS, which is a CHERI-based operating system. RPA aims to detect anomalous behavior in real time, quantify security risks, and dynamically adjust permissions to mitigate potential threats. RPA maintains system continuity, enforces fine-grained access control, and progressively contains the impact of violations without interrupting critical operations. The framework was evaluated through targeted fault injection experiments, including 20 real-world CVEs and 15 abstract vulnerability classes, demonstrating its ability to mitigate both known and generalized attacks. Performance measurements indicate minimal runtime overhead while significantly reducing system downtime compared to conventional CHERIoT and FreeRTOS implementations.

Keywords: real-time operating systems (RTOSs); system call; FreeRTOS; Capability Hardware Enhanced RISC Instructions (CHERI); access control; permission adjustment; risk (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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