Semmle Limited

Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC

Peter Cawley

Julian Tibble

Pavel Avgustinov

Joshua George Hale

Luke James Cartey

Geoffrey White

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for identifying source code used to build executable. One of the methods includes determining that a first newly created process is a compiler, the compiler being invoked to compile a source code file; after the compiler exits, generating a first hash value of an object file generated by the compiler; generating an object artifact that identifies the source code file and includes the first hash value of contents of the object file generated by the compiler; determining that the second newly created process is a linker, the linker being invoked to generate an executable file from one or more object files; generating a link artifact that includes respective hash values of each of the one or more object files used to generate the executable file; and providing the link artifact and object artifact to a static analysis system.

Identifying source code used to build executable files

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for extracting source code. One of the methods includes receiving, by a newly created process, a request to execute code of an executable file in the newly created process, wherein the request specifies a parameter. The newly created process loads a process interception library. Library initialization code of the process interception library determines whether the parameter should be intercepted. In response to determining that the parameter should be intercepted, the parameter is provided to another process.

Extracting source code

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for automatically determining configuration properties of a compiler. One of the methods includes determining that an executable of the newly created process is a compiler called by the build system to compile source code of a source code file. In response to the determining, a plurality of configuration properties of the compiler called by the build system are determined, the configuration properties including first properties of a plurality of built-in functions of the compiler, second properties of a plurality of built-in types of the compiler, or both. A compiler emulator is configured to emulate the behavior of the compiler called by the build system using the determined configuration properties. Access to the source code is provided to the compiler emulator configured using the determined configuration properties.

Automatic classification of compilers

Automatic determination of compiler configuration

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for transparently instrumenting a build system. One of the methods includes setting, in an execution environment of a computer system, a first environment variable that specifies a custom agent to be executed in the execution environment. A request by the system to create a virtual machine using a default create VM function is intercepted by a custom create VM function. The custom create VM function removes the first environment variable from the execution environment, and the custom create VM function executes the default create VM function to invoke a VM having the custom agent without the execution environment having the first environment variable being set.

Transparent process interception

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on computer storage media, for inlining software dependencies. One of the methods includes receiving data representing dependencies between software elements in a project, wherein the plurality of software elements includes a first software element that includes a usage of a template parameterized by a type, a second software element that is or occurs within a definition of the template, and a third software element. If the dependencies include a first dependency of the first software element on the second software element, and a second dependency of the second software element on the third software element, the second dependency is removed and a new dependency is generated of (i) the first software element on (ii) the third software element.

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Oxford, United Kingdom

Peter Cawley