Patent ID: 9660807
Date: 2017-05-23
CPC Classifications: G06F,H04L

Claim:
1. A computing device-implemented method for trusting an operating system application attempting to change a Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) authenticated variable comprising: receiving, with an operating system application, a user-supplied password; using the user-supplied password to create a hash of configuration data for a request to alter a UEFI authenticated variable; clearing, the user-supplied password from a memory of the computing device following the creating of the hash of configuration data for the request; receiving with system firmware the request to alter the UEFI authenticated variable from the operating system application, the request accompanied by the hash of configuration data and the configuration data; examining the request with the system firmware, the examining verifying that a portion of an authentication header is set to a pre-determined Globally Unique Identifier (GUID) and that the request contains a timestamp value later than a current timestamp value associated with the UEFI authenticated variable for which alteration is requested, the pre-determined GUID indicating that the operating system application request used a password-based mechanism for authentication; calculating with the firmware a new hash of the configuration data contained in the request based on a password known to the firmware; comparing the new hash to the hash contained in the request; and allowing alteration of the UEFI authenticated variable in event of a match between the new hash and the hash contained in the request.