Static use-based object confinement

Abstract

The confinement of object references is a significant security concern for modern programming languages. We define a language that serves as a uniform model for a variety of confined object reference systems. A use-based approach to confinement is adopted, which we argue is more expressive than previous communicationbased approaches. We then develop a readable, expressive type system for static analysis of the language, along with a type safety result demonstrating that run-time checks can be eliminated. The language and type system thus serve as a reliable, declarative, and efficient foundation for secure capability-based programming and object confinement.

CallƐ: an effect system for method calls

“…The atypical object-capability language of 'pop' [25] follows an approach similar to conventional accessibility: the File class would declare what code can call its methods. Thus their approach inherits the problems of accessibility control, the File class would need to be modified if new code wishes to directly call its methods, even worse, it allows 'rights amplification' by code that has permission to call a certain method on an object.…”

Discretionary Capability Confinement

“…The static type system pop [37] supports the reference-as-capability metaphor in an inheritance-less object calculus. Contrary to "communication-based" schemes of object confinement (e.g., confined types), an "used-based" approach has been adopted by pop to impose a custom "user interface" over an object.…”