A SYSTEM HAVING A HOST PROCESSOR THAT EXECUTES AN EXECUTABLE CODE AND A METHOD TO UPDATE AN EXECUTABLE CODE EXECUTED BY A HOST PROCESSOR

摘要

A subsystem prevents unauthorized modification of BIOS program code embedded in modifiable non-volatile memory devices such as flash memory. A cryptographic coprocessor containing the BIOS memory device performs authentication and validation on the BIOS upgrade based on a public/private key protocol. The authentication is performed by verifying the digital signature embedded in the BIOS upgrade.