A System-on-Chip (SoC) comprises several components (IP) with varied
trust requirements. It is required that each IP is identified
uniquely and should distinguish itself from other entities in
the SoC without any ambiguity. The unique secured identity is
required for various purposes. Most of the time the identity is used
to route a transaction or perform certain actions, including
resetting, retrieving a sensitive information, and acting upon or on
behalf of something else.
There are several variants of this weakness:
- A "missing" identifier is when the SoC does not define
any mechanism to uniquely identify the IP.
- An "insufficient" identifier might provide
some defenses - for example, against the most common
attacks - but it does not protect against everything
that is intended.
- A "misconfigured" mechanism occurs when a mechanism
is available but not implemented correctly.
- An "ignored" identifier occurs when the SoC/IP has not applied
any policies or does not act upon the identifier securely.