Method for emulating an executable code in order to detect maliciousness
US7013483B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jan 3, 2003 |
| Grant date | Mar 14, 2006 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Oct 16, 2023 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F21/566
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
The present invention is directed to a method for emulating an executable code, whether it is a human-readable code (e.g., macro and script) or a compiled code (e.g. Windows executable). At the design time, one or more content attributes are defined for the variables of the code. A content attribute indicates a property with relevance to maliciousness, e.g. Windows directory, a random value, “.EXE” at the right of a string, etc. A content attribute may be implemented, for example, by a flag. Also defined at the design time, is a list of malicious states, where a malicious state comprises at least the combination of a call to a certain system function with certain content, as the calling parameter(s). When emulating an assignment instruction, the attributes of the assigned variable are set according to the assigned content. When emulating a mathematical operator, a content mathematics is also applied. When emulating a function call, the current state (i.e. the function identity and the calling content and values) is compared with the pre-defined malicious states, and if at least one malicious state corresponds, then the maliciousness of the code is determined.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.