Static validation of machine code for security properties

Abstract

Novel graph analytics herein detect security violations in machine code. Here is static validation of machine code for detecting policy violations in an accelerated way that analytically generates a control flow graph from misaligned sequences of instructions that may, for example, partially overlap (i.e. share some of the bytes) in a memory buffer. In a first analytic phase, entry points into machine code are discovered. The entry points are starting points of control flow analysis that generates a directed control flow graph (CFG) in a second analytic phase. In a third analytic phase, interchangeable and combinable security policies implement the graph analytics in a flexible way that can be customized for a processor and its instruction set architecture (ISA). This approach will quantifiably increase the reliability of a computer that executes untrusted code such as an open source library or tenant logic in a multitenant environment such as a public cloud.