Patent attributes
In a malware detection device, first characters in a network traffic flow are compared with a plurality of entries within a ternary content addressable memory (TCAM), the plurality of entries including a first entry that constitutes a first segment of a malware signature. In response to an output from the first TCAM indicating that the first characters match the first entry, a variable-character expression engine determines whether second characters in the network traffic flow match a first variable-length regular expression, the variable-length regular expression corresponding to a second segment of the malware signature. A comparand value is generated that includes third characters in the network traffic flow and an expression-match value that indicates whether the second characters match the first variable-length regular expression. The TCAM compares the first comparand value with the plurality of entries therein as part of a determination whether the network traffic flow contains the malware signature.
