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[dragonxi4amd]

Security of OpenCL Implementation

Hi,

Q1. Is it possible to virus scan AMD's GPU software ?

~ immediatelly after boot

~ anytime

Q2. Can one CRC check (or otherwise check)  AMD's GPU sofware ?

~ after boot to verify a new GPU version from AMD ?

~ anytime to check that code that GPU is still ok ?

Q3. How is AMD's GPU OpenCL software protected against attacks

from other apps such as WebGL, OpenGL using GPU ?

Q4. Is there any methods for a GPU OpenCL software to check that

a CPU host OpenCL software has authority / authentication / rights

to ask the services it wants ?

[MicahVillmow]

1) There is nothing stopping you from virus scanning the installer/driver files.
2) We display the MD5 checksums on the download page, is this sufficient?
3) All software stacks that utilize the GPU have the same weakness to certain types of attacks. Since the GPU is not a pre-emptible device, any rogue software can DOS the device taking it, and possible the entire machine out.
4) No, the OpenCL software stack does not, and I don't believe it can, perform these checks. These should be OS level checks, but I may be wrong.

[dragonxi4amd]

Thanks for your answer Micah !

(2) Is it possible to get the MD5 checksum from GPU ?

[MicahVillmow]

you mean write a kernel that computes the md5 checksum?

[dragonxi4amd]

Yes, a kernel that computes the md5 checksum from the AMD software in GPU which offers/manages/implements OpenCL.

The goal is to be sure that the OpenCL core software in GPU is ok, has stayed the same since the system was started - and to make sure no virus has modified GPU software.

[MicahVillmow]

dragon,
There is no AMD OpenCL software that is running on the GPU, only on the CPU. Every time you call clEnqueueNDRange(), the OpenCL runtime, executing on the CPU, packages up all of the register settings, memory information, kernel and anything else that is required to execute your kernel and sends it to the GPU. This information programs the GPU and executes the kernel. Once the kernel is done execution, that data is no longer valid.

[dragonxi4amd]

Thanks for your answer Micah - we know now how to continue !