17644021. Indirect Function Call Target Identification in Software simplified abstract (INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION)

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Indirect Function Call Target Identification in Software

Organization Name

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION

Inventor(s)

Qiushi Wu of Minneapolis MN (US)

Zhongshu Gu of Ridgewood NJ (US)

Hani Talal Jamjoom of Cos Cob CT (US)

Indirect Function Call Target Identification in Software - A simplified explanation of the abstract

This abstract first appeared for US patent application 17644021 titled 'Indirect Function Call Target Identification in Software

Simplified Explanation

Abstract

The patent application describes a method for identifying indirect function call targets in software. This is achieved by analyzing explicit data flows and dependencies between software modules. The method also involves a dynamic execution analysis of the program to generate a set of indirect function call targets. Additionally, a graph neural network is used to identify similar target functions based on feature embeddings, thereby expanding the set of indirect function call targets.

Bullet Points

  • Method for identifying indirect function call targets in software
  • Analysis of explicit data flows and dependencies between software modules
  • Dynamic execution analysis of the program
  • Generation of a set of indirect function call targets
  • Utilization of a graph neural network to identify similar target functions
  • Expansion of the set of indirect function call targets

Potential Applications

  • Software development and debugging
  • Security analysis and vulnerability detection
  • Performance optimization and code refactoring

Problems Solved

  • Difficulty in identifying indirect function call targets in software
  • Lack of comprehensive analysis of explicit data flows and dependencies
  • Inefficient manual analysis of dynamic execution

Benefits

  • Improved software understanding and analysis
  • Enhanced security and vulnerability detection
  • Optimized performance and code quality


Original Abstract Submitted

Indirect function call target identification in software is provided. A set of explicit data flows that pass a function address between software modules of a program is determined using an explicit data dependency analysis. A set of indirect function call targets is generated from results of the explicit data dependency analysis and a dynamic execution analysis of the program. The set of indirect function call targets is expanded by identifying similar target functions based on feature embeddings generated by a graph neural network.

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