The ever-evolving world of technology continually demands more advanced and secure systems. The Apple Silicon Macbooks has brought forth an innovative security feature known as the Pointer Authentication Code (PAC).
The PAC is a form of Control Flow Integrity (CFI), specifically intended to ensure the robustness of memory pointers employed on the device. Through PACs, certain kinds of attacks, for example, return-oriented programming (ROP), could be prevented. The ROP attack is one that poses a considerable threat to existing security mechanisms, and its effectiveness in bypassing existing security measures via ROP chains has been well-documented.
The introduction of PACs marks a significant development in security mechanisms, with its unique ability to impede the ROP attacks that exploit memory-corruption vulnerabilities, offering a more comprehensive and formidable approach to memory protection. Consequently, the Apple Silicon Macbooks have taken a significant step in strengthening the security of their systems, ensuring that they remain resilient against attacks, both known and unknown, in a world where technology is continuously evolving.