AAOS SDV - Secure by Design

The Android Automotive Operating System for Software Defined Vehicle (AAOS SDV) prioritizes security by design. This blog post outlines key security concepts.

Domain isolation is achieved through virtualization, allowing co-hosted instances to operate independently. This prevents consolidation into a single chip, which would reduce isolation. AAOS SDV instances provide internal isolation mechanisms, making logical domain independence preferable for certain applications.

AAOS SDV inherits Android Security features, including a User ID (UID)-based isolation model. Each application runs in a dedicated process with a unique UID, managing access rights, data directories, and restrictions. Portable Operating System Interface (POSIX) capabilities and Security-Enhanced Linux (SELinux) further restrict operations, enforcing a deny-by-default posture.

Vulnerability management is a proven process in AAOS SDV. It integrates Android's security response and vulnerability management infrastructure, enabling continuous automated scanning, annual deep-dive penetration testing, and partner-driven intelligence. This lifecycle incorporates triaging, remediation, and disclosure of security findings, ensuring long-term platform resilience.

Secure software delivery is another critical aspect. AAOS SDV provides two installation methods: installing software directly to read-only system, product, or vendor partitions, and utilizing Android Pony EXpress (APEX) packages. Each APEX encapsulates software and its dependencies, providing immutable storage, cryptographic integrity, strict isolation, and atomic recovery mechanisms to mitigate malicious code execution.