Source URL: http://security.googleblog.com/2024/10/safer-with-google-advancing-memory.html
Source: Google Online Security Blog
Title: Safer with Google: Advancing Memory Safety
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Summary: The content discusses Google’s strategic commitment to enhancing memory safety in software development. It highlights the significance of memory safety vulnerabilities, current trends, and Google’s two-pronged approach to integrating memory-safe languages while addressing risks associated with legacy memory-unsafe code.
Detailed Description:
The post explores the critical issue of memory safety in software, outlining that a majority of vulnerabilities stem from memory safety bugs. Key points of discussion include:
– **Statistics on Memory Safety Vulnerabilities**:
– Approximately 70% of severe vulnerabilities in memory-unsafe codebases are due to memory safety issues.
– In 2023, Google identified a spike in real-world exploited vulnerabilities, with 75% of CVEs involved in zero-day exploits linked to memory safety.
– **Secure by Design Commitment**:
– Google has prioritized security considerations within the software development lifecycle, putting a spotlight on enhancing memory safety practices.
– **Evolution of Memory Safety at Google**:
– Acknowledgment of historically balancing performance with safety, leading to the adoption of memory-safe languages such as Java, Python, and Go.
– Development of tools like sanitizers and fuzzers to identify and address vulnerabilities, open-sourced to support the wider developer community.
– **Strategic Approach to Memory Safety**:
– Google’s strategy involves two main pillars:
1. **Migration to Memory-Safe Languages (MSLs)**:
– Increasing adoption of MSLs, which significantly reduce memory-related errors through features like garbage collection and borrow checking.
– Plans to expand Rust’s integration into low-level environments traditionally dominated by C++ to enhance memory safety.
2. **Risk Reduction for Memory-Unsafe Code**:
– Focused on retrofitting safety into existing C++ code, employing exploit mitigations, and leveraging containment strategies.
– Deployment of tools and methodologies to enhance the safety of current software, including bounds-checking and bug detection techniques.
– **Peer Collaboration and Future Endeavors**:
– Google is actively collaborating with semiconductor and research communities to explore hardware-based solutions to memory safety.
– Upcoming research on Memory Tagging Extension (MTE) and Capability Hardware Enhanced RISC Instructions (CHERI) for improved memory safety.
– **Impact on Digital Ecosystem**:
– Google envisions that achieving memory safety at scale will positively influence the broader digital ecosystem and emphasizes the need for ongoing investment and innovation.
In summary, this post underscores the critical nature of memory safety in software development, articulates Google’s comprehensive strategy towards enhancing it, and exemplifies a proactive stance towards addressing vulnerabilities, ultimately striving for a more secure digital environment.