1. A non-volatile storage subsystem that processes storage access commands received from a host system, the non-volatile storage subsystem comprising: a memory array; and a controller for processing storage access commands communicated in accordance with a storage interface that includes a command set, the controller configured to: receive a write data command and an associated block of write data from the host system, the write data command associated with an address that specifies at least one target sector of the memory array; determine whether the storage subsystem is in an authenticated state with respect to the host system; when it is determined that the storage subsystem is in the authenticated state with respect to the host system: determine whether the write data command was received from the host system with respect to which the storage subsystem is in the authenticated state; and in response to determining that the write data command was received from the host system with respect to which the storage subsystem is in the authenticated state: extract an embedded command from the block of write data and determine whether the embedded command is valid; and in response to determining that the embedded command is valid, execute the embedded command within the non-volatile storage subsystem, wherein the embedded command is not included in the command set; and when it is determined that the storage subsystem is not in the authenticated state with respect to the host system, execute the write data command.