Intel SGX is a set of new instructions from Intel that allows user-level code to allocate private regions of memory, called enclaves, that unlike normal process memory is also protected from processes running at higher privilege levels.[1]

Support for SGX in the CPU is indicated in CPUID “Structured Extended feature Leaf”, EBX bit 02,[2] but its availability to applications requires BIOS support and opt-in enabling which is not reflected in CPUID bits. This complicates the feature detection logic for applications.[3]

Emulation of SGX was added to experimental version of QEMU system emulator in 2014.[4] In 2015, researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology released an open-source simulator known as OpenSGX.

It was introduced in 2015 with the sixth generation Intel Core microprocessors based on the Skylake microarchitecture.

References

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  1. ^ “Intel® SGX for Dummies (Intel® SGX Design Objectives)”. intel.com. 2013-09-26. 
  2. ^ Intel Architecture Instruction Set Extensions Programming Reference, Intel, AUGUST 2015, page 36 “Structured Extended feature Leaf EAX=07h, EBX Bit 02: SGX”
  3. ^ “Properly Detecting Intel® Software Guard Extensions in Your Applications”. intel.com. 2016-05-13. 
  4. ^ https://tc.gtisc.gatech.edu/bss/2014/l/final/pjain43.pdf

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