Codasip Donates Newly Developed SDK to the CHERI Alliance
October 21, 2024
News
Munich, Germany. Codasip generously donated its newly developed Software Development Kit (SDK) for CHERI to the communal CHERI Alliance, and makes the SDK freely available for download on GitHub. CHERI (Capability Hardware Enhanced RISC Instructions) is an innovative security technology established by the University of Cambridge in collaboration with SRI International.
The research started with the support for design flexibility in hardware and software to enhance system security and was funded by DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), UKRI (UK Research and Innovation), and others. In 2023, the technology was made commercially available in a licensable processor by Codasip.
CHERI expands Instruction Set Architecture (ISA) to manage memory access control. This deters common vulnerabilities such as buffer overflows and memory corruption. To utilize the platform, developers need access to software tools and packages that are available for CHERI. According to the press release, the compiler must create applications that leverage the new instructions introduced by the modified ISA and hardware core.
Working with other CHERI Alliance members, Codasip has created tools for open-source projects and is contributing them to the CHERI Alliance for open use by everyone implementing CHERI on RISC-V.
The CHERI RISC-V SDK includes:
- C/C++ compiler and toolchain based on LLVM17
- CHERI-RISC-V Sail model
- QEMU open-source emulator
- OpenSBI implementation of the RISC-V Supervisor Binary Interface
- Das U-Boot bootloader
- Linux kernel 6.10
- FreeRTOS
- The GNU Debugger
- Yocto build system for Linux
- Basic user space environment based on Busybox
“As more organizations and governments discover the potential of the CHERI technology to protect us, we need to speed up the pace of making the technology available in real systems,” says Ron Black, chief executive officer, Codasip. “We have made a massive effort to implement a full Linux-capable SDK that we are now opening for everyone to use. I am confident this will be a great asset for the CHERI and RISC-V communities.”
Access the SDK from the CHERI Alliance GitHub at https://github.com/CHERI-Alliance.
Chad Cox. Production Editor, Embedded Computing Design, has responsibilities that include handling the news cycle, newsletters, social media, and advertising. Chad graduated from the University of Cincinnati with a B.A. in Cultural and Analytical Literature.
