Abstraction of Trusted Execution Environments as the Missing Layer for Broad Confidential Computing Adoption: A Systematization of Knowledge
Fuente:
arXiv
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2025
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1866917170616729600 |
|---|---|
| author | Michaud, Quentin Ramezanian, Sara Ayed, Dhouha Levillain, Olivier Garcia-Alfaro, Joaquin |
| author_facet | Michaud, Quentin Ramezanian, Sara Ayed, Dhouha Levillain, Olivier Garcia-Alfaro, Joaquin |
| contents | Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) protect sensitive code and data from the operating system, hypervisor, or other untrusted software. Different solutions exist, each proposing different features. Abstraction layers aim to unify the ecosystem, allowing application developers and system administrators to leverage confidential computing as broadly and efficiently as possible. We start with an overview of representative available TEE technologies. We describe and summarize each TEE ecosystem, classifying them in different categories depending on their main design choices. Then, we propose a systematization of knowledge focusing on different abstraction layers around each design choice. We describe the underlying technologies of each design, as well as the inner workings and features of each abstraction layer. Our study reveals opportunities for improving existing abstraction layer solutions. It also highlights WebAssembly, a promising approach that supports the largest set of features. We close with a discussion on future directions for research, such as how future abstraction layers may evolve and integrate with the confidential computing ecosystem. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_22090 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Abstraction of Trusted Execution Environments as the Missing Layer for Broad Confidential Computing Adoption: A Systematization of Knowledge Michaud, Quentin Ramezanian, Sara Ayed, Dhouha Levillain, Olivier Garcia-Alfaro, Joaquin Cryptography and Security Trusted Execution Environments (TEEs) protect sensitive code and data from the operating system, hypervisor, or other untrusted software. Different solutions exist, each proposing different features. Abstraction layers aim to unify the ecosystem, allowing application developers and system administrators to leverage confidential computing as broadly and efficiently as possible. We start with an overview of representative available TEE technologies. We describe and summarize each TEE ecosystem, classifying them in different categories depending on their main design choices. Then, we propose a systematization of knowledge focusing on different abstraction layers around each design choice. We describe the underlying technologies of each design, as well as the inner workings and features of each abstraction layer. Our study reveals opportunities for improving existing abstraction layer solutions. It also highlights WebAssembly, a promising approach that supports the largest set of features. We close with a discussion on future directions for research, such as how future abstraction layers may evolve and integrate with the confidential computing ecosystem. |
| title | Abstraction of Trusted Execution Environments as the Missing Layer for Broad Confidential Computing Adoption: A Systematization of Knowledge |
| topic | Cryptography and Security |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.22090 |