Execution failure investigation using static analysis
US7526758B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 30, 2005 |
| Grant date | Apr 28, 2009 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 7, 2027 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06F11/366
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
When, during debugging, a program failure occurs, the location of the failure is determined. First the address in the stack related to the program failure is found. Then static analysis is performed in order to determine a possible culprit for the failure. For example, when a security cookie has been overwritten, indicating a probable overflow, the location of the security cookie on the stack is determined, and proximate storage structures (such as arrays) which may have overflowed onto the location of the security cookie are determined. Then static analysis is used to determine probable sources (e.g. functions or instructions in a function) for this error. In this way, the root cause of a buffer overflow or similar problem can be identified easily, rather than requiring extensive time and knowledge regarding the working of the compiler, the security cookie, the stack, static analysis, and the source code.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.