Introduction to Arm Trusted Firmware-A

This course provides a deep dive into the foundational secure software for Arm A-profile systems. The curriculum covers the evolution of the Arm A-Profile Architecture (from ARMv7-A to ARMv9-A) and the role of TF-A as the EL3 monitor firmware, including its components and handling of Secure Monitor Calls. It details the TF-A reference bootloaders (BL1, BL2, BL31, BL32, BL33) and their respective boot flows. Furthermore, the course examines critical security aspects such as the Generic Threat Model, Trusted Board Boot (TBB), Chain of Trust, and firmware authentication/encryption, and concludes with an exploration of the Secure and Realm world interfaces, covering EL3 runtime services, Standard Services (like PSCI, TRNG, SDEI), and the Secure/Realm Partition Manager (SPM/RMM) for Confidential Compute Architecture (CCA).

• Arm A-Profile Architecture: The evolution of the architecture, specifically covering ARMv7-A, ARMv8-A, and ARMv9-A.
• Trusted Firmware-A (TF-A) Project: The history, origins, and core function of TF-A as the reference EL3 firmware.
• Firmware Components: An exploration of the various components that make up the TF-A framework.
• Secure Monitor Calls (SMC): Details on how SMCs are managed and processed within the system.
• Context Management: Mechanisms for managing the CPU context during switches between different security worlds (e.g., between the Rich Operating System and the Secure World).

• Architectural Knowledge: Understanding the differences and advancements across Arm A-Profile architectures (v7-A through v9-A).
• TF-A Expertise: Comprehending TF-A's purpose, function, and internal structure.
• Practical Skills: Ability to grasp how SMCs are handled and how TF-A manages CPU state transitions.
• Core Concepts: Familiarity with how TF-A serves as a reference implementation for EL3 monitor firmware.