Title:
Execution Hijacking: Improving Dynamic Analysis by Flying off Course
Execution Hijacking: Improving Dynamic Analysis by Flying off Course
Author(s)
Tsankov, Petar
Jin, Wei
Orso, Alessandro
Sinha, Saurabh
Jin, Wei
Orso, Alessandro
Sinha, Saurabh
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Abstract
Typically, dynamic-analysis techniques operate on
a small subset of all possible program behaviors, which limits
their effectiveness and the representativeness of the computed
results. To address this issue, a new paradigm is emerging:
execution hijacking—techniques that explore a larger set of
program behaviors by forcing executions along specific paths.
Although hijacked executions are infeasible for the given inputs,
they can still produce feasible behaviors that could be observed
under other inputs. In such cases, execution hijacking can
improve the effectiveness of dynamic analysis without requiring
the (expensive) generation of additional inputs. To evaluate
the usefulness of execution hijacking, we defined, implemented,
and evaluated several variants of it. Specifically, we performed
empirical study where we assessed whether execution hijacking
could improve the effectiveness of two common dynamic analyses:
software testing and memory error detection. The results of
the study show that execution hijacking, if suitably performed,
can indeed help dynamic analysis techniques.
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Date Issued
2010
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Text
Resource Subtype
Technical Report