APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR POINTER AUTHENTICATION

An apparatus has processing circuitry to execute instructions and address prediction storage circuitry to store address prediction information for use in predicting upcoming instructions to be executed by the processing circuitry. The processing circuitry is responsive to an instruction to generate a pointer signature for a pointer to generate the pointer signature for the pointer based on an address of the pointer and a cryptographic key. The address prediction storage circuitry is also configured to store address prediction information for the pointer, the address prediction information including the pointer. The processing circuitry is responsive to an instruction to authenticate a given pointer to obtain, based on the address prediction information for the given pointer, a predicted pointer signature; compare the predicted pointer signature with a pointer signature identified by the instruction to authenticate; and responsive to the comparing detecting a match, determine that the given pointer is valid.