Work

Finding ∀∃ Hyperbugs using Symbolic Execution

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: Many important hyperproperties, such as refinement and generalized non-interference, fall into the class of ∀∃ hyperproperties and require, for each execution trace of a system, the existence of another trace relating to the first one in a certain way. The alternation of quantifiers renders ∀∃ hyperproperties extremely difficult to verify, or even just to test. Indeed, contrary to trace properties, where it suffices to find a single counterexample trace, refuting a ∀∃ hyperproperty requires not only to find a trace, but also a proof that no second trace satisfies the specified relation with the first trace. As a consequence, automated testing of ∀∃ hyperproperties falls out of the scope of existing automated testing tools. In this paper, we present a fully automated approach to detect violations of ∀∃ hyperproperties in software systems. Our approach extends bug-finding techniques based on symbolic execution with support for trace quantification. We provide a prototype implementation of our approach, and demonstrate its effectiveness on a set of challenging examples.

Source: Proceedings of the ACM on Programming Languages

DOI: 10.1145/3689761

Authors: Arthur Correnson, Tobias Nießen, Bernd Finkbeiner, Georg Weissenbacher

Institutions: Helmholtz Center for Information Security, TU Wien

Language: English

Topic: Software Testing and Debugging Techniques

Subfield: Software

Field: Computer Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: diamond

Funders: Vienna Science and Technology Fund, European Research Council, HORIZON EUROPE Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions

Awards: G1370735372, G1659056681, G850047242