Validate PAC/BTI security features in OpenJDK on Google Cloud C4A

About this Learning Path

Who is this for?

This is for Java developers running OpenJDK on Arm Neoverse platforms who want to verify PAC/BTI security features are properly enabled. Pointer Authentication (PAC) cryptographically signs return addresses to detect tampering, while Branch Target Identification (BTI) restricts where indirect branches can land. You'll learn to test both hardware capabilities and JVM compiler support for these Armv9 security features.

What will you learn?

Upon completion of this Learning Path, you will be able to:

• Provision a Google Cloud C4A Arm-based virtual machine with SUSE Linux Enterprise Server.
• Install OpenJDK on the Arm-based VM.
• Verify PAC/BTI readiness in the installed JVM runtime.

Prerequisites

Before starting, you will need the following:

• A Google Cloud Platform (GCP) account with billing enabled
• Optionally, install the gcloud CLI to connect to the VM from a local terminal instead of using the browser-based SSH