Application Sensor Instrumentation for Vulnerability Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for detecting vulnerabilities in software applications are inadequate, leading to increased business risk due to the growing complexity and interconnectedness of software systems, which can result in security breaches and data vulnerabilities.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the modification of application instructions to include configurable sensors that generate event indicators, which are stored and analyzed to detect and report vulnerabilities such as SQL injection, command injection, and other security threats, using a system that instruments the application with sensors based on security rules to monitor and track data flows.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If sensors are inserted into application instructions to generate event indicators, then vulnerability detection capability is improved, but application execution speed deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces sensors as intermediary components that are inserted into application instructions. These sensors act as mediators between the application code and the vulnerability detection system, generating event indicators without fundamentally altering the application's core execution path. The sensors capture security-relevant events while allowing the application to continue executing, thus improving detection capability while minimizing speed deterioration.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies partial action by selectively inserting sensors only at critical points in the application where security events are most likely to occur, rather than instrumenting every instruction. This targeted approach ensures sufficient vulnerability detection capability while reducing the overall overhead and preserving application execution speed.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple sensors are inserted to detect various vulnerabilities, then detection coverage is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements universal sensors that can detect multiple types of vulnerabilities through a common architecture. Rather than creating separate detection mechanisms for each vulnerability type, the system uses configurable sensors that can be adapted to detect SQL injection, command injection, cross-site scripting, and other security threats, thereby improving detection coverage while managing system complexity through reuse of core components.
Solution Approach 2:
The vulnerability detection system is segmented into modular components: sensor insertion module, event indicator generation, correlation analysis, and vulnerability detection. This segmentation allows each component to be developed and maintained independently, reducing overall system complexity while enabling comprehensive detection coverage through coordinated operation of specialized modules.
3Measurement precision
If event indicators are stored and analyzed comprehensively, then vulnerability detection accuracy is improved, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-configuring sensors and establishing correlation rules before application execution. Event indicators are generated and stored in real-time during execution, but the actual vulnerability detection analysis is performed after execution completes or at designated checkpoints. This allows comprehensive data collection without interrupting application execution, improving accuracy while minimizing processing time impact.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts only the security-relevant event indicators from the vast amount of application execution data, rather than analyzing all generated data. The correlation analysis focuses specifically on patterns indicative of vulnerabilities, filtering out irrelevant information. This extraction approach maintains high detection accuracy while significantly reducing processing time by concentrating computational resources on critical security events.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems, methods, and apparatus, including computer program products, for detecting a presence of at least one vulnerability in an application. The method is provided that includes modifying instructions of the application to include at least one sensor that is configurable to generate an event indicator, wherein the event indicator includes at least some data associated with the event; storing the event indicator with other stored event indicators generated by the at least one sensor during the execution of the application; analyzing the stored event indicators; detecting a presence of at least one vulnerability in the application based on the analysis of the stored event indicators; and reporting the presence of at least one vulnerability.