MEMORY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AND METHOD PROVIDING LINEAR ADDRESS BASED MEMORY ACCESS SECURITY

摘要

A memory management unit (MMU) (602) is disclosed for managing a memory (406) storing data arranged within a plurality of memory pages. The MMU (602) includes a security check unit (416) receiving a linear address (102) generated during execution of a current instruction. The linear address (102) has a corresponding physical address residing within a selected memory page. The security check unit (416) uses the linear address (102) to access one or more security attribute data structures located in the memory (406) to obtain a security attribute of the selected memory page. The security check unit (416) compares a numerical value conveyed by a security attribute of the current instruction to a numerical value conveyed by the security attribute of the selected memory page, and produces an output signal dependent upon a result of the comparison. The MMU (602)accesses the selected memory page dependent upon the output signal.