Trusted computing base: Difference between revisions

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Revision as of 23:23, 11 March 2025

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{{textbook|date=February 2020}}

[[The]] '''trusted computing base''' ('''TCB''') of a [[computer system]] is the set of all [[Computer hardware|hardware]], [[firmware]], and/or [[software]] components that are critical to its [[computer security|security]], in the sense that [[Software bug|bugs]] or [[Vulnerability (computing)|vulnerabilities]] occurring inside the TCB might jeopardize the security properties of the entire system. By contrast, parts of a computer system that lie outside the TCB must not be able to misbehave in a way that would leak any more [[privilege (computer science)|privilege]]s than are granted to them in accordance to the system's [[security policy]].

The careful design and implementation of a system's trusted computing base is paramount to its overall security. Modern [[operating system]]s strive to reduce the size of the TCB{{Citation needed lead|date=February 2019}} so that an exhaustive examination of its code base (by means of manual or computer-assisted [[software audit review|software audit]] or [[program verification]]) becomes feasible.