Remediation of security vulnerabilities in computer software

• US 9,589,134 B2
• Filed: 03/17/2016
• Issued: 03/07/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/09/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Tripp, Omer
• Primary Examiner(s): Nalven, Andrew
• Assistant Examiner(s): RUPRECHT, CHRISTOPHER S
• Application Number:
  US15/073,208
• Publication Number:
  US 20160196429A1
• Time in Patent Office: 355 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9024 Graphs; Linked lists G06F16/9027 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/12 Protecting executable software
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/52 during program execution, e.g. stack integrity ; Preventing unwanted data erasure; Buffer overflow
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/54 by adding security routines or objects to programs
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/57 Certifying or maintaining trusted computer platforms, e.g. secure boots or power-downs, version controls, system software checks, secure updates or assessing vulnerabilities
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/577 Assessing vulnerabilities and evaluating computer system security
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/6218 to a system of files or objects, e.g. local or distributed file system or database
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2221/033 Test or assess software

Abstract

Processing a downgrader specification by constructing a set of candidate downgrader placement locations found within a computer software application, where each of the candidate downgrader placement locations corresponds to a transition between a different pair of instructions within the computer software application, and where each of the transitions participates in any of a plurality of data flows in a set of security-sensitive data flows within the computer software application, applying a downgrader specification to the set of candidate downgrader placement locations, and determining that the downgrader specification provides full coverage of the set of security-sensitive data flows within the computer software application if at least one candidate downgrader placement location within each of the security-sensitive data flows is a member of the set of candidate downgrader placement locations.

Claims

1. A computer hardware system, comprising:

a hardware processor configured to initiate the following executable operations;

constructing, for a computer software application, an initial set of candidate downgrader placement locations;

identifying, for the computer software application, a set of security-sensitive data flows;

generating, by reducing the initial set of candidate downgrader placement locations using a downgrader specification, a reduced set of candidate downgrader placement locations; and

determining, based upon each of the data flows in the security of security-sensitive data flows including at least one candidate downgrader placement location in the reduced set of candidate downgrader placement locations, that the downgrader specification provides full coverage of the set of security-sensitive data flows, wherein

each of the candidate downgrader placement locations corresponds to a transition between a different pair of instructions within the computer software application, and

each of the transitions participates in at least one of the data flows in the set of security-sensitive data flows.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein

the downgrader specification indicates downgrader placement locations to eliminate.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein

the downgrader specification is defined by a computer user.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein

the downgrader specification indicates areas of the computer software application in which downgraders are not to be placed.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein

the downgrader specification indicates that downgraders be placed within a predefined number of instruction steps from a code location within the computer software application where untrusted data is read.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein

the downgrader specification indicates that downgraders be placed within a predefined number of instruction steps from a security-sensitive operation within the computer software application.

7. A computer hardware system, comprising:

a hardware processor configured to initiate the following executable operations;

identifying, for a computer software application, a set of security-sensitive data flows;

constructing, for the computer software application, an initial set of candidate downgraders for processing the set of security-sensitive data flows;

generating, by reducing the initial set of candidate downgraders using a downgrader specification, a reduced set of candidate downgraders; and

determining, based upon each of the data flows in the security of security-sensitive data flows being processable by at least one candidate downgrader in the reduced set of candidate downgraders, that the downgrader specification provides full coverage of the set of security-sensitive data flows.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein

the downgrader specification indicates downgraders to eliminate.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein

the downgrader specification indicates areas of the computer software application in which downgraders are not to be placed.

10. A computer program product, comprising:

a computer-readable storage medium having stored therein computer-readable program code,

the computer-readable program code, which when executed by a computer hardware system, causes the computer hardware system to perform;

constructing, for a computer software application, an initial set of candidate downgrader placement locations;

identifying, for the computer software application, a set of security-sensitive data flows;

generating, by reducing the initial set of candidate downgrader placement locations using a downgrader specification, a reduced set of candidate downgrader placement locations; and

determining, based upon each of the data flows in the security of security-sensitive data flows including at least one candidate downgrader placement location in the reduced set of candidate downgrader placement locations, that the downgrader specification provides full coverage of the set of security-sensitive data flows, wherein

each of the candidate downgrader placement locations corresponds to a transition between a different pair of instructions within the computer software application, and

each of the transitions participates in at least one of the data flows in the set of security-sensitive data flows.

11. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein

the downgrader specification indicates downgrader placement locations to eliminate.

12. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein

the downgrader specification is defined by a computer user.

13. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein

the downgrader specification indicates areas of the computer software application in which downgraders are not to be placed.

14. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein

the downgrader specification indicates that downgraders be placed within a predefined number of instruction steps from a code location within the computer software application where untrusted data is read.

15. The computer program product of claim 10, wherein

the downgrader specification indicates that downgraders be placed within a predefined number of instruction steps from a security-sensitive operation within the computer software application.