Loading…
May 21 - 22 | Minneapolis, Minnesota
View More Details & Registration
Note: The schedule is subject to change.

The Sched app lets you build your schedule, but it is not a substitute for event registration. You must be registered for Linux Security Summit North America 2026 to participate in the sessions. If you have not registered but would like to join us, please visit the event registration page to purchase a ticket.


Thursday May 21, 2026 11:30am - 12:00pm CDT
Intel Control-Flow Enforcement Technology (CET) represents a milestone in hardware-assisted exploit mitigation, providing silicon-level defenses against Return-Oriented Programming (ROP) and Jump-Oriented Programming (JOP). This session provides a deep-dive analysis of the two pillars of CET—Indirect Branch Tracking (IBT) and Shadow Stacks (SHSTK)—and their integration into the Linux kernel.

We trace the implementation journey from the initial merge of IBT in Linux 5.18 to the arrival of userspace Shadow Stacks in Linux 6.6. The session explores the microarchitectural mechanics of the #CP (Control Protection) fault and how the kernel manages shadow stack allocations, signal frame tokens, and context switching.

Key topics include:

Forward-Edge Integrity: How IBT uses the ENDBR opcode to restrict indirect branch targets.

Backward-Edge Defense: A deep look at hardware-enforced Shadow Stacks and the management of the Shadow Stack Pointer (SSP).

The Kernel Interface: Leveraging arch_prctl(2) for application opt-in and the role of GLIBC_TUNABLES in production environments.

Edge Cases: Handling complex control flows like setjmp/longjmp, JIT engines, and signal restorers.
Speakers
avatar for Jay Tharwani

Jay Tharwani

System Software Engineer at NetApp, NetApp Inc.
I am a systems software engineer working at the intersection of operating systems, virtualization, and CPU architecture. I have nearly a decade of experience building low-level system software and cloud infrastructure at Intel and Oracle, and I an currently a Member of Technical Staff... Read More →
Thursday May 21, 2026 11:30am - 12:00pm CDT
101A+B

Sign up or log in to save this to your schedule, view media, leave feedback and see who's attending!

Share Modal

Share this link via

Or copy link