CAREER: Principled and Practical Software Shielding against Advanced Exploits

利用流行软件中的内存损坏漏洞是导致系统危害和恶意软件感染的主要原因之一。虽然这种可利用漏洞激增的原因有几个，但对不安全的编程语言(如C和C++)的依赖以及现代软件的复杂性起到了主要作用。在浏览器、文档查看器和其他广泛使用的软件中不断发现以前未知的(零日)漏洞，以及缺乏针对利用内存泄漏漏洞的最新攻击技术的有效防御，需要开发额外的防御机制。该项目的主要目标是设计软件屏蔽技术及其对商用软件和系统的实用适用性。所调查技术的主要创新方面包括：i)原则性设计，该设计考虑了最新的漏洞利用进展所强加的强大对抗性模型，即披露辅助攻击和仅数据攻击，针对这些模型的有效对策仍然是一个悬而未决的问题；ii)新的代码专门化和数据保护技术，以引入进程级的不可预测性并限制关键数据的暴露；iii)通过利用最近和即将到来的处理器功能来实现硬件辅助实施，以将所应用的保护的性能影响降至最低；以及iv)侧重于实际考虑，例如操作兼容性和非中断性部署。这项研究工作的成果预计将提高防御高级漏洞的最新水平，并通过保护现有易受攻击的应用程序免受攻击而产生实质性的实际影响，最终用户和安全研究人员都将受益。该项目还为学生提供了开展网络安全研究的机会，并通过学生动手研讨会和科学教师研讨会促进将网络安全融入高中教育。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The exploitation of memory corruption vulnerabilities in popular software is among the leading causes of system compromise and malware infection. While there are several reasons behind this proliferation of exploitable bugs, the reliance on unsafe programming languages such as C and C++ and the complexity of modern software play a major role. The continuous discovery of previously unknown (zero-day) vulnerabilities in browsers, document viewers, and other widely used software, and the lack of effective defenses against recent exploitation techniques that leverage memory disclosure vulnerabilities, necessitate the development of additional defense mechanisms.The main objective of this project is the design of software shielding techniques and their practical applicability to commodity software and systems. The key innovative aspects of the investigated techniques include: i) principled design that considers the strong adversarial models imposed by the latest exploitation advancements, i.e., disclosure-aided exploitation and data-only attacks, against which effective countermeasures remain an open problem; ii) novel code specialization and data protection techniques, to introduce process-level unpredictability and limit the exposure of critical data; iii) hardware-assisted implementation by leveraging recent and upcoming processor features to minimize the performance impact of the applied protections; and iv) focus on practical considerations, such as operational compatibility and non-disruptive deployment. The outcomes of this research effort are expected to improve the state of the art in defenses against advanced exploits, and achieve substantial practical impact by shielding existing vulnerable applications against exploitation, benefiting both end users and security researchers. The project also provides students the opportunity to conduct research in cybersecurity, and fosters the integration of cybersecurity into high school education through hands-on workshops for students and seminars for science teachers.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.