Token-based scanning of source code for security problems
John Viega, J. T. Bloch, Tadayoshi Kohno, Gary E. McGraw · ACM Transactions on Information and System Security · 2002
We describe ITS4 , a tool for statically scanning C and C++ source code for security 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.We also describe functionality in more recent tools modeled after ITS4 , and discuss algorithms that could easily be used to augment these kinds of tools. Particularly, we describe a solution we have prototyped that allows for more rigorous analysis of C and C++ source code, without failing to analyze parts of the program due to preprocessor conditionals.