Patent · US Active

Proactive exploit detection

US8402541B2 · kind B2 · utility

21Cited by
6References
19Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateMar 12, 2009
Grant dateMar 19, 2013
Priority date
Expiry dateMay 27, 2030

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06F21/563
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

Malware detection systems and methods for determining whether a collection of data not expected to include executable code is suspected of containing malicious executable code. In some embodiments, a malware detection system may disassemble a collection of data to obtain a sequence of possible instructions and determine whether the collection of data is suspected of containing malicious executable code based, at least partially, on an analysis of the sequence of possible instructions. In one embodiment, the analysis of the sequence of possible instructions may comprise determining whether the sequence of possible instructions comprises an execution loop. In a further embodiment, a control flow of the sequence of possible instructions may be analyzed. In a further embodiment, the analysis of the sequence of possible instructions may comprise assigning a weight that is indicative of a level of suspiciousness of the sequence of possible instructions. In a further embodiment, the sequence of possible instructions may begin with a possible instruction that comprises at least one candidate operation code (opcode) that has been determined to occur frequently in executable code.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.