Fault Control System Integrating Fault Trees with Control Flow Graphs
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current approaches to optimizing control flow graphs and identifying safety-related functions in software programs are overly complex and rely heavily on manual support, leading to inadequate protection against malicious attacks and faults, particularly in safety-critical systems like vehicle control systems.
Innovation Solution
A fault control system that integrates fault trees with control flow graphs to automatically instrument source code with runtime checks, identifying safety-related functions and analyzing their fault conditions using Boolean logic, thereby enhancing program flow integrity and fault resiliency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If current approaches to identifying safety-related functions and instrumenting source code are used, then functional safety coverage is improved, but system complexity and manual effort increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines control flow graph analysis with fault tree analysis into a unified automated system. The control flow graph module and fault tree module work together to automatically identify safety-related functions and instrument source code, merging what were previously separate manual processes into an integrated solution that reduces complexity while maintaining comprehensive safety coverage.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs self-service by automatically analyzing source code to identify safety-related functions without requiring manual intervention. The automated instrumentation process generates and inserts safety checks autonomously, eliminating the need for manual code review and instrumentation while ensuring thorough functional safety coverage.
2Reliability
If comprehensive instrumentation is added to protect against malicious attacks and faults, then security and fault resiliency are improved, but program complexity and development difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by automatically inserting instrumentation code into safety-related functions before execution. The control flow graph analysis identifies critical paths and the fault tree analysis determines necessary safety checks in advance, allowing the system to pre-instrument source code with appropriate safety mechanisms without increasing perceived program complexity during development.
3Reliability
If manual analysis of control flow graphs is used to identify vulnerabilities, then security coverage is improved, but interpretability and practical usability deteriorate due to large complex graphs
Solution Approach 1:
The system extracts only the safety-critical portions of the control flow graph for analysis rather than presenting the entire complex graph to developers. By focusing instrumentation on identified safety-related functions and extracting relevant control flow paths, the system maintains comprehensive security coverage while presenting manageable, targeted information that is practical for developer interpretation and review.
Data Source
AI summary
System, methods, and other embodiments described herein relate to improving control flow in a program for safety-related functions. In one embodiment, a method includes identifying a safety-related function of the program. The safety-related function is associated with functionality performed by the program that effects whether an associated device operates according to a functional safety standard. The method includes integrating a fault tree for the safety-related function into associated portions of a control flow graph of the program. The control flow graph identifies at least procedural control flows within the program, and the fault tree indicates combinations of conditions in the program that produce faults by the program. The method includes providing the control flow graph as an electronic output to improve the control flow of the program.