Patent ID: 9430642
Filing Date: 2016-08-30
CPC Classification: G06F

Claim Text:
1. A method comprising: implementing, for a virtual machine, a virtual secure mode having multiple virtual trust levels, the multiple virtual trust levels being organized as a hierarchy so that a higher level virtual trust level is more privileged than a lower virtual trust level, each virtual trust level having memory access protections associated with the virtual trust level that are separate from memory access protections of other of the multiple virtual trust levels, each virtual trust level having an interrupt subsystem associated with the virtual trust level that is separate from interrupt subsystems of other of the multiple virtual trust levels, and each virtual trust level having private processor state associated with the virtual trust level that is separate from private processor state of other of the multiple virtual trust levels; allowing a virtual processor of the virtual machine to run in any one of the multiple virtual trust levels, the virtual processor running in only one virtual trust level at a time, and the virtual trust level at which the virtual processor is running being an active virtual trust level; and allowing, by a virtual machine manager managing the virtual machine, a program running on the virtual processor to access memory of the virtual machine based on memory access protections configured for the active virtual trust level.