2 Search Results for "Brandl, Katharina"

Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ECOOP.2025.34
Taming and Dissecting Recursions Through Interprocedural Weak Topological Ordering

Authors: Jiawei Yang, Xiao Cheng, Bor-Yuh Evan Chang, Xiapu Luo, and Yulei Sui

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 333, 39th European Conference on Object-Oriented Programming (ECOOP 2025)

Abstract
Abstract interpretation provides a foundational framework for approximating program semantics by interpreting code through abstract domains using semantic functions over ordered sets along a program’s control flow graph (CFG). To facilitate fixpoint computation in abstract interpretation, weak topological ordering (WTO) is an effective strategy for handling loops, as it identifies strategic control points in the CFG where widening and narrowing operations should be applied. However, existing abstract interpreters still face challenges when extending WTO computation in the presence of recursive programs. Computing a precise whole-program WTO requires full context-sensitive analysis which is not scalable for large programs, while context-insensitive analysis introduces spurious cycles that compromise precision. Current approaches either ignore recursion (resulting in unsoundness) or rely on conservative approximations, sacrificing precision by adopting the greatest elements of abstract domains and applying widening at function boundaries without subsequent narrowing refinements. These can lead to undesired results for downstream tasks, such as bug detection. To address the above limitations, we present RecTopo, a new technique to boost the efficiency of precise abstract interpretation in the presence of recursive programs through interprocedural weak topological ordering (IWTO). Rather than pursuing an expensive whole-program WTO analysis, RecTopo employs an on-demand approach that strategically decomposes programs at recursion boundaries and constructs targeted IWTOs for each recursive component. RecTopo dissects and analyzes (nested) recursions through interleaved widening and narrowing operations. This approach enables precise control over interpretation ordering within recursive structures while eliminating spurious recursions through systematic correlation of control flow and call graphs. We implemented RecTopo and evaluated its effectiveness using an assertion-based checking client focused on buffer overflow detection, comparing it against three popular open-source abstract interpreters (IKOS, Clam, CSA). The experiments on 8312 programs from the NIST dataset demonstrate that, on average, RecTopo is 31.99% more precise and achieves a 17.49% higher recall rate compared to three other tools. Moreover, RecTopo exhibits an average precision improvement of 46.51% and a higher recall rate of 32.98% compared to our baselines across ten large open-source projects. Further ablation studies reveal that IWTO reduces spurious widening operations compared to whole-program WTO, resulting in a 12.83% reduction in analysis time.
Cite as

Jiawei Yang, Xiao Cheng, Bor-Yuh Evan Chang, Xiapu Luo, and Yulei Sui. Taming and Dissecting Recursions Through Interprocedural Weak Topological Ordering. In 39th European Conference on Object-Oriented Programming (ECOOP 2025). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 333, pp. 34:1-34:31, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2025)

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@InProceedings{yang_et_al:LIPIcs.ECOOP.2025.34,
  author =	{Yang, Jiawei and Cheng, Xiao and Chang, Bor-Yuh Evan and Luo, Xiapu and Sui, Yulei},
  title =	{{Taming and Dissecting Recursions Through Interprocedural Weak Topological Ordering}},
  booktitle =	{39th European Conference on Object-Oriented Programming (ECOOP 2025)},
  pages =	{34:1--34:31},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-373-7},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2025},
  volume =	{333},
  editor =	{Aldrich, Jonathan and Silva, Alexandra},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ECOOP.2025.34},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-233265},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ECOOP.2025.34},
  annote =	{Keywords: Abstract interpretation, recursion, weak topological ordering}
}
Document
DOI: 10.4230/LIPIcs.ECOOP.2023.5
Modular Abstract Definitional Interpreters for WebAssembly

Authors: Katharina Brandl, Sebastian Erdweg, Sven Keidel, and Nils Hansen

Published in: LIPIcs, Volume 263, 37th European Conference on Object-Oriented Programming (ECOOP 2023)

Abstract
Even though static analyses can improve performance and secure programs against vulnerabilities, no static whole-program analyses exist for WebAssembly (Wasm) to date. Part of the reason is that Wasm has many complex language concerns, and it is not obvious how to adopt existing analysis frameworks for these features. This paper explores how abstract definitional interpretation can be used to develop sophisticated analyses for Wasm and other complex languages efficiently. In particular, we show that the semantics of Wasm can be decomposed into 19 language-independent components that abstract different aspects of Wasm. We have written a highly configurable definitional interpreter for full Wasm 1.0 in 1628 LOC against these components. Analysis developers can instantiate this interpreter with different value and effect abstractions to obtain abstract definitional interpreters that compute inter-procedural control and data-flow information. This way, we develop the first whole-program dead code, constant propagation, and taint analyses for Wasm, each in less than 210 LOC. We evaluate our analyses on 1458 Wasm binaries collected by others in the wild. Our implementation is based on a novel framework for definitional abstract interpretation in Scala that eliminates scalability issues of prior work.
Cite as

Katharina Brandl, Sebastian Erdweg, Sven Keidel, and Nils Hansen. Modular Abstract Definitional Interpreters for WebAssembly. In 37th European Conference on Object-Oriented Programming (ECOOP 2023). Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs), Volume 263, pp. 5:1-5:28, Schloss Dagstuhl – Leibniz-Zentrum für Informatik (2023)

Copy BibTex To Clipboard

@InProceedings{brandl_et_al:LIPIcs.ECOOP.2023.5,
  author =	{Brandl, Katharina and Erdweg, Sebastian and Keidel, Sven and Hansen, Nils},
  title =	{{Modular Abstract Definitional Interpreters for WebAssembly}},
  booktitle =	{37th European Conference on Object-Oriented Programming (ECOOP 2023)},
  pages =	{5:1--5:28},
  series =	{Leibniz International Proceedings in Informatics (LIPIcs)},
  ISBN =	{978-3-95977-281-5},
  ISSN =	{1868-8969},
  year =	{2023},
  volume =	{263},
  editor =	{Ali, Karim and Salvaneschi, Guido},
  publisher =	{Schloss Dagstuhl -- Leibniz-Zentrum f{\"u}r Informatik},
  address =	{Dagstuhl, Germany},
  URL =		{https://drops.dagstuhl.de/entities/document/10.4230/LIPIcs.ECOOP.2023.5},
  URN =		{urn:nbn:de:0030-drops-181982},
  doi =		{10.4230/LIPIcs.ECOOP.2023.5},
  annote =	{Keywords: Static Analysis, WebAssembly}
}
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