Techniques for permitting access across a context barrier on a small footprint device using run time environment privileges

A small footprint device can securely run multiple programs from unrelated vendors by the inclusion of a context barrier isolating the execution of the programs. The context barrier performs security checks to see that principal and object are within the same context or to see that a requested action is authorized for an object to be operated upon. Each program or set of programs runs in a separate context, however, one context has access to all program modules without context barrier constraints.