Reference Monitor

Related Concepts – Access control – Access control policy – Security kernel Definition A reference monitor concept defines a set of design requirements on a reference validation mechanism, which enforces an access control policy over subjects' (e.g., processes and users) ability to perform operations (e.g., read and write) on objects (e.g., files and sockets) on a system. – The reference validation mechanism must always be invoked (complete mediation). – The reference validation mechanism must be tamperproof (tamperproof). – The reference validation mechanism must be small enough to be subject to analysis and tests, the completeness of which can be assured (verifiable). The claim is that a reference validation mechanism that satisfies the reference monitor concept will correctly enforce a system's access control policy, as it must be invoked to mediate all security-sensitive operations, must not be tampered, and has undergone complete analysis and testing to verify correctness.

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