ITS4: a static vulnerability scanner for C and C++ code

We describe ITS4, a tool for statically scanning security-critical C source code for vulnerabilities. Compared to other approaches, our scanning technique stakes out a new middle ground between accuracy and efficiency. This method is efficient enough to offer real-time feedback to developers during...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Viega, J., Bloch, J.T., Kohno, Y., McGraw, G.
Format: Conference Proceeding
Language:English
Subjects:
Buffer overflow
Computer languages
Data security
Feedback
Information security
Libraries
Programming profession
Software packages
Software tools
Writing
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Summary:We describe ITS4, a tool for statically scanning security-critical C source code for vulnerabilities. Compared to other approaches, our scanning technique stakes out a new middle ground between accuracy and efficiency. This method is efficient enough to offer real-time feedback to developers during coding while producing few false negatives. Unlike other techniques, our method is also simple enough to scan C++ code despite the complexities inherent in the language. Using ITS4 we found new remotely-exploitable vulnerabilities in a widely distributed software package as well as in a major piece of e-commerce software. The ITS4 source distribution is available at http://www.rstcorp.com/its4.
DOI:10.1109/ACSAC.2000.898880