Patent · US Active

Protection of computer system

US9239923B2 · kind B2 · utility

0Cited by
3References
22Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventor

Key dates

Filing dateDec 15, 2009
Grant dateJan 19, 2016
Priority date
Expiry dateJan 13, 2030

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04L63/1441
  • WIPO fieldDigital communication
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

Protection of a computer system (104) against attacks using malformed files is applied to an application (106) configured to process files of a predefined Headerless format indicated by a Characteristic pattern of bytes. An incoming file's Characteristic pattern is checked by comparing its leading bytes with Characteristic patterns. If its leading bytes have such a pattern, the file (100) is subjected to a full content check; the file is discarded (100) if it lacks such a pattern or has contents considered damaging. A file is checked regarding suitability for further processing by comparing its leading bytes with the Characteristic pattern of the predefined Headerless format. A full content check of the file may also be carried out. The application (106) is permitted to process files having the Characteristic pattern of the predefined Headerless format and appropriate file contents. The method can deal with ZIP files (b) etc. starting with redundant data b1 even if polymorphic, provided that the file is not potentially damaging.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.