Control Flow Path Fragment Uniqueness Profiling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing profiling methods struggle to uniquely identify control flow paths, leading to a large attack surface for attackers, as measurements may not be unique to vulnerable paths, and are resource-intensive, making it difficult to detect deviations from known program structures.
Innovation Solution
A data processing apparatus and method that analyzes the uniqueness of profile measurements of control flow path fragments within interconnected instructions, determining optimal profiling points to maximize uniqueness and minimize resource usage, using compilation circuitry to insert instrumentation instructions and performance monitoring units for efficient profiling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If profiling is performed to identify control flow paths for vulnerability detection, then attack detection capability is improved, but resource consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the control flow analysis into basic blocks and control flow edges, analyzing uniqueness at the edge level rather than requiring full path profiling. This segmentation allows selective instrumentation of only those edges that contribute to unique identification, reducing overall profiling overhead while maintaining detection capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by determining uniqueness metrics for individual control flow edges and selectively instrumenting only those edges with high uniqueness value. Instead of uniformly profiling all control flow paths, the system concentrates profiling resources on locally significant edges that provide the most discriminative power for attack detection.
2Measurement precision
If profiling measurements are made on control flow paths, then vulnerability identification is improved, but measurement uniqueness deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary static analysis to compute uniqueness metrics for control flow edges before runtime profiling. By pre-identifying which edges provide unique identification value, the system can focus runtime measurements on those specific edges, ensuring that the measurements taken are maximally informative and unique to particular control flow paths.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces traditional dynamic profiling mechanisms with a hybrid approach that uses static analysis computations to determine uniqueness. Instead of relying solely on runtime measurement collection and comparison, the system uses predetermined uniqueness metrics derived from control flow graph analysis to guide which measurements are most valuable, substituting computational analysis for brute-force profiling.
3Reliability
If comprehensive profiling is performed across all instructions, then control flow path detection is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and isolates the essential elements needed for control flow analysis by focusing on control flow edges rather than requiring complete instrumentation of all instructions. By taking out only the critical edges that contribute to unique path identification, the system reduces the complexity of the profiling infrastructure while maintaining effective control flow path detection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial action by instrumenting only a subset of control flow edges that are determined to have high uniqueness value, rather than comprehensively instrumenting all possible control flow paths. This selective approach provides sufficient information for attack detection without the overhead and complexity of complete profiling coverage.
Data Source
AI summary
A data processing apparatus is provided that includes storage circuitry to store a plurality of interconnected instructions. Analysis circuitry analyses the instructions to determine a degree of uniqueness of profile measurements of a control flow path fragments within the instructions.