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<concept id="GUID-3B6E25F7-C1A8-461F-97F7-421DB559BC98" xml:lang="en"><title>Process identification</title><prolog><metadata><keywords/></metadata></prolog><conbody>

<p>Sometimes it is useful for security reasons to obtain more information

about server or application processes, and identify an application

and even its vendor uniquely.</p>

<ul>

<li><p>To verify an application's identity, use <codeph><xref href="jar:GUID-35228542-8C95-4849-A73F-2B4F082F0C44.jar!/sdk/doc_source/reference/reference-cpp/Application_Architecture/RApaLsSessionClass.html" format="application/java-archive">RApaLsSession</xref></codeph> to retrieve the application's

name and  <i>Unique Identifier</i> UID, and compare them against known

information.</p><p>For more information, see <xref href="GUID-EA05F9B6-52C7-4BD9-8B9A-4BA3456E70B5.dita">UID</xref>.</p>

</li>

<li><p>Use the <codeph><xref href="jar:GUID-35228542-8C95-4849-A73F-2B4F082F0C44.jar!/sdk/doc_source/reference/reference-cpp/Application_Architecture/TApaTaskListClass.html" format="application/java-archive">TApaTaskList</xref></codeph> class to get a list of currently

running applications.</p><p>In the platform security architecture

there are two different identifiers for applications: Secure Identifier

(SID) and Vendor Identifier  (VID).</p></li>

</ul>

<p><b id="GUID-EEC50FC0-46D5-4ED7-AD95-67430D5EC652">Secure Identifier

(SID)</b></p>

<p>Every executable has its own <i>Secure Identifier</i> (SID),

which is used to identify the running process launched from the executable.

It can also be used to determine which private directory a process

can access. SID is stored in the executable binary, so it has the

same security as any executable code. The SID value is not relevant

for <codeph>dll</codeph>.</p>

<p>SID values are requested from the <xref href="http://www.symbiansigned.com" scope="external">Symbian Signed</xref> web site.

The <xref href="GUID-1293DE8C-E803-4ADF-9FA8-862519337331.dita">Software

Installer</xref> ensures that no two applications have the same SID

value on a particular target device.</p>

<p>To retrieve the SID of a process, use the <codeph><xref href="jar:GUID-35228542-8C95-4849-A73F-2B4F082F0C44.jar!/sdk/doc_source/reference/reference-cpp/Kernel_Architecture_2/RProcessClass.html#%3a%3aRProcess%3a%3aSecureId%28%29const" format="application/java-archive">RProcess::SecureId()</xref></codeph> method . During inter

process communication, use the <codeph><xref href="jar:GUID-35228542-8C95-4849-A73F-2B4F082F0C44.jar!/sdk/doc_source/reference/reference-cpp/Kernel_Architecture_2/TSecurityPolicyClass.html" format="application/java-archive">TSecurityPolicy</xref></codeph> class to specify a security

policy consisting of both <xref href="GUID-6971B0A2-F79B-4E05-8AF3-BB1FC1932A22.dita">capability</xref> and SID checks.</p>

<p>For information on how to define the SID in the <codeph>mmp</codeph> file, see <codeph>secureid</codeph>. If SID is not specified in

the <codeph>mmp</codeph> file, the value of UID3 is used as the SID.</p>

<p><b id="GUID-EEC50FC0-46D5-4ED7-AD95-67430D5EC654">Vendor Identifier

(VID)</b></p>

<p>In addition to SID, signed applications have a <i>Vendor Identifier</i> (VID) which can be used to identify the source of the application.

Applications from one vendor usually share a common VID, but the vendor

may have different VIDs for different product families. VIDs can also

be used to group servers and clients into logical groups providing

services to each other.</p>

<p>Note that the VID cannot be reused for any other entity. For

example, the Nokia VID (<codeph>0x101FB657</codeph>) is property of

Nokia.</p>

<p>For information on how to define the VID in the <codeph>mmp</codeph> file, see <codeph>vendorid</codeph>.</p>

<section id="GUID-09668673-7926-453D-BD33-9894F5631C90"><title>Secure

inter process communication</title>

<p>Authentication can be done in different ways. The server can

decide to request (or not to request) capabilities from the client.

The client's options are more limited, the server is usually authenticated

by name. The <codeph>ProtServ</codeph> <xref href="GUID-6971B0A2-F79B-4E05-8AF3-BB1FC1932A22.dita">capability</xref> allows the server to insert an "!" in front of its name, indicating

that the server can be trusted. Nameless servers are also possible,

but no client can connect to them without a handle to the server.

The server can also authenticate the client with SID and VID.</p>

<p>Every server should define the following security policies:</p>

<ul>

<li><p>Which capabilities are required by the calling application</p>

</li>

<li><p>Which SID and VID are required by the calling application</p>

</li>

<li><p>What actions are possible or must be done with the

information provided:</p>

<ul>

<li><p>Can input data be trusted?</p></li>

<li><p>Is user acceptance needed for this operation?</p>

</li>

<li><p>Can this server act as a proxy towards other components?</p>

</li>

</ul>

</li>

</ul>

</section>

</conbody></concept>