Why it matters

Why CHERI

Understand the human cost of memory errors and how CHERI complements the protections we already rely on.

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01 · Why CHERI CHERI and Rust CHERI and Rust are complementary: Rust prevents many errors through language rules, while CHERI enforces pointer authority across native code and component boundaries. Read this page
02 · Why CHERI Vulnerabilities in everyday technology Routers, vehicles, medical devices, appliances, phones and public services all run complex software, often including native code and reused libraries. Read this page
03 · Why CHERI Approaches to memory safety Memory safety needs layers: safer languages, testing, hardening, hardware enforcement and compartmentalisation address different failure modes and lifecycle constraints. Read this page
04 · Why CHERI Frequently asked questions CHERI adds protected capabilities to processor architectures so hardware can check pointer validity, bounds and permissions and support fine-grained compartments. Read this page
05 · Why CHERI Why existing defences are not enough Testing, fuzzing, code review, sanitizers and exploit mitigations remain essential, but they cannot guarantee that every memory error is found or rendered harmless across a long-lived code base. Read this page
06 · Why CHERI The memory-safety problem Memory-unsafe software can read or write outside the object it intended to use, or continue using memory after the object's lifetime. Read this page
07 · Why CHERI How secure are you? Security is not a single score; this practical self-check helps teams identify native-code exposure, trust boundaries, long lifetimes and containment needs. Read this page
09 · Why CHERI CHERI and existing software CHERI is designed to work with established C and C++ ecosystems through adapted compilers, operating systems and ABIs. Read this page
10 · Why CHERI What CHERI changes CHERI changes the way a processor represents and checks authority to memory. Read this page