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QNX Software Development Platform
System Security Guide
The QNX System Security Guide is intended for both system integrators who are responsible for the security of a QNX OS system and developers who want to create a QNX OS resource manager free from vulnerabilities.
Security Features for Developers
Address space layout randomization (ASLR)
Address space layout randomization varies the location of data and instructions each time an executable is loaded.

QNX Momentics IDE User's Guide
QNX Software Development Platform
- Quickstart Guide
- System Architecture
  The System Architecture guide accompanies the QNX OS and is intended for both application developers and end-users.
- OS Components
- Graphics
- Programming
- System Security Guide
  The QNX System Security Guide is intended for both system integrators who are responsible for the security of a QNX OS system and developers who want to create a QNX OS resource manager free from vulnerabilities.
  - Security Matrix
    The following table describes security problems and cyberattacks and the QNX OS security features that can mitigate them.
  - Security Features Overview
  - Security Features for Developers
    - Security policies
      Security policies can make some aspects of security much easier for a developer.
    - Stack protection
      Stack cookies provide protection against stack buffer overflow on stack-allocated variables, preventing program misbehaviours.
    - RELRO
    - Compiler defenses
    - Address space layout randomization (ASLR)
      Address space layout randomization varies the location of data and instructions each time an executable is loaded.
    - Fortified system functions
      QNX OS fortified system functions are designed to detect out-of-bounds memory accesses by performing lightweight parameter validation at compile-time, runtime, or both.
    - Cryptography for developers
      QNX OS offers developers many alternatives for cryptography functions.
    - Random number generation
    - Hypervisor security
      Because the QNX hypervisor is built as an extension of the QNX OS microkernel, it inherits the security features of the microkernel itself as well as the secure execution environment the microkernel creates. It also has additional layers that are purpose built for secure virtual machine operation.
    - Writing a resource manager
      The information in this section is designed to help you create a QNX OS resource manager that does not contain vulnerabilities. It focuses on properly checking both permissions and the length and content of resource manager messages.
  - Security Features for System Integrators
  - Security Policies
  - Fortified System Functions
  - QNX Cryptography Library
    The QNX cryptography library (qcrypto library) is a generic cryptographic shim layer that provides a consistent API to the various cryptographic primitives offered by third-party libraries.
  - The devcrypto service
    The devcrypto service is a legacy system driver interface and is mainly provided for backwards compatibility.
  - Pathtrust
    The pathtrust feature prevents processes from executing untrusted code. If a process is compromised, pathtrust mitigates the threat of the system being further compromised by an attacker using chained-together exploits.
  - PAM
    Systems that need authentication can use pluggable authentication module (PAM), a configurable standard library.
  - Using mkqnximage to Display Security Features
- Utilities & Libraries
- Migrating to QNX OS 8.0
QNX Software in the Cloud
QNX Toolkit for Visual Studio Code
This User's Guide describes the QNX Toolkit for Visual Studio Code. The guide introduces you to the QNX Toolkit by explaining the QNX development environment and how to build, run, and debug your QNX OS applications and systems.
Typographical Conventions, Support, and Licensing
This section describes the typographical conventions used throughout the documentation and explains how to obtain technical support.

Address space layout randomization (ASLR)

QNX SDP8.0QNX OS System Security GuideAPIConfiguration

Address space layout randomization varies the location of data and instructions each time an executable is loaded.

To support ASLR, your binary must be compiled as position independent. Use the -fPIC compiler option to compile libraries and the -fPIE option when compiling binaries. The QNX OS compiler utilities include these options by default.

On a running QNX system, the -m~r command line option to procnto disables ASLR. This option should not be passed to procnto on systems where ASLR should be enabled.

For more information, see Address space layout randomization (ASLR) in the "Security features for system integrators" section.

Page updated: May 17, 2024