The University of Arizona
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Probabilistic Obfuscation through Covert Channels

HeuiChan Lim   Saumya Debray
Department of Computer Science
University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ 85721, U.S.A.
 

Abstract
Many widely-deployed modern programming systems use just-in-time (JIT) compilers to improve performance. The size and complexity of JIT-based systems, combined with the dynamic nature of JIT-compiler optimizations, make it challenging to locate and fix JIT compiler bugs quickly. At the same time, JIT compiler bugs can result in exploitable security vulnerabilities, making rapid bug localization important. Existing work on automated bug localization focuses on static code, i.e., code that is not generated at runtime, and so cannot handle bugs in JIT compilers that generate incorrect code during optimization. This paper describes an approach to automated bug localization in JIT compilers, down to the level of distinct optimization phases, starting with a single initial Proof-of-Concept (PoC) input that demonstrates the bug. Experiments using a prototype implementation of our ideas on Google’s V8 JavaScript interpreter and TurboFan JIT compiler demonstrates that it can successfully identify buggy optimization phases.