International Business Machines Corporation

Ounce Labs, Inc.

Ryan Berg

Marco Pistoia

Omer Tripp

Takaaki Tateishi

John Peyton

Robert A Gottlieb

John J Danahy

Larry Rose

Chris Rehbein

Robert Wiener

Shay Artzi

Manu Sridharan

Paolina Centonze

Stephen Darwin Teilhet

John Thomas Peyton, Jr

A method includes accessing a validator routine having an input string and one or more return points, each return point returning a return value having two possible values; finding the return points in the validator routine; for each of the return points, performing a backwards traversal from a return point through a code section and determining constraints on the input string based at least on one or both of the two possible return values for the return point; using the determined constraints for the input string, determining whether all of the return values returned from the one or more return points meet validation constraints; and outputting one or more indications of whether all of the returned values returned from the return points meet the validation constraints for the one or both of the two possible return values. Apparatus and computer program products are also disclosed.

Static analysis of validator routines

A method includes determining selected global variables in a program for which flow of the selected global variables through the program is to be tracked. The selected global variables are less than all the global variables in the program. The method includes using a static analysis performed on the program, tracking flow through the program for the selected global variables. In response to one or more of the selected global variables being used in security-sensitive operations in the flow, use is analyzed of each one of the selected global variables in a corresponding security-sensitive operation. In response to a determination the use may be a potential security violation, the potential security violation is reported. Apparatus and computer program products are also disclosed.

Global variable security analysis

Computer program products and apparatus are disclosed. Using a static analysis, a software program is analyzed to determine whether the software program accesses a secure resource for a computer system without verification that the secure resource can be accessed by the software program. In response to an access by the software program to the secure resource without verification that the secure resource can be accessed by the software program, a result is output indicative of the analyzing. An apparatus is disclosed that includes a user interface providing a security report to a user, the security report indicating a result of an analysis of whether or not a software program accesses a secure resource for a computer system without verification that the secure resource can be accessed by the software program.

Static analysis for verification of software program access to secure resources for computer systems

Mechanisms for evaluating downgrader code in application code with regard to one or more security guidelines are provided. Downgrader code in application code is identified, where the downgrader code is a portion of code in the application code that operates on an information flow of the application code to ensure confidentiality of information input to the downgrader code, in the output of the downgrader code. Processes of the downgrader code are evaluated against security guidelines to determine if the processes violate the security guidelines. A notification is generated in response to the evaluation indicating that the processes of the downgrader code violate the security guidelines. The notification is output to a computing device for consideration.

Formal analysis of the quality and conformance of information flow downgraders

A method includes performing a static analysis on a program having sources and sinks to track string flow from the sources to the sinks. The static analysis includes, for string variables in the program that begin at sources, computing grammar of all possible string values for each of the string variables and, for methods in the program operating on any of the string variables, computing grammar of string variables returned by the methods. The static analysis also includes, in response to one of the string variables reaching a sink that performs a security-sensitive operation, comparing current grammar of the one string variable with a policy corresponding to the security-sensitive operation, and performing a reporting operation based on the comparing. Apparatus and computer program products are also disclosed.

Policy-driven detection and verification of methods such as sanitizers and validators

Systems and methods are provided for creating a data structure associated with a software application that is based on at least one framework. According to the method, source code and at least one configuration file of the software application is analyzed by at least one framework-specific processor so as to determine entry point information indicating entry points in the source code, request attribute access information indicating where attributes attached to a request data structure are read and written, and forward information indicating forwards performed by the software application. A data structure for a static analysis engine is created based on this information. The data structure includes a list of synthetic methods that model framework-related behavior of the software application, and a list of entry points indicating the synthetic methods and/or application methods of the software application that can be invoked by the framework.

Generating specifications of client-server applications for static analysis

A method includes, using a static analysis, analyzing a software program to determine whether the software program accesses a secure resource for a computer system without verification that the secure resource can be accessed by the software program. The method also includes, in response to an access by the software program to the secure resource without verification that the secure resource can be accessed by the software program, outputting a result indicative of the analyzing. Computer program products and apparatus are also disclosed. An apparatus is disclosed that includes a user interface providing a security report to a user, the security report indicating a result of an analysis of whether or not a software program accesses a secure resource for a computer system without verification that the secure resource can be accessed by the software program.

An illegal pattern and a computer program having a method are received. The method has one or more return statements, and a number of basic blocks. The method is normalized so that each return statement of the target method relating to the illegal pattern returns a constant Boolean value. A first path condition and a second path condition for one or more corresponding paths is determined such that one or more corresponding basic blocks return a constant Boolean value of true for the first path condition and a constant Boolean value of false for the second path condition. An unsatisfiability of each path condition is determined using a monadic second-order logic (M2L) technique. Where the unsatisfiability of either path condition is false, the method is reported as not being a validator. Where the unsatisfiability of either path condition is true, the method is reported as being a validator.

Determining whether method of computer program is a validator

A method and system of detecting vulnerabilities in source code. Source code is parsed into an intermediate representation. Models (e.g., in the form of lattices) are derived for the variables in the code and for the variables and/or expressions used in conjunction with routine calls. The models are then analyzed in conjunction with pre-specified rules about the routines to determine if the routine call posses one or more of pre-selected vulnerabilities.

Method and system for detecting vulnerabilities in source code

A method and system of detecting vulnerabilities in source code. Source code is parsed into an intermediate representation. Models are derived for the code and the models are then analyzed in conjunction with pre-specified rules about the routines to determine if the routine call posses one or more of pre-selected vulnerabilities.

Method and system for detecting privilege escalation vulnerabilities in source code

A method and system of detecting vulnerabilities in source code. Source code is parsed into an intermediate representation. Models are derived for the code and the models are then analyzed in conjunction with pre-specified rules about the routines to determine if the routines posses one or more of pre-selected vulnerabilities.

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Sudbury, MA, United States of America

Ryan Berg