AIBugHunter: A Practical tool for predicting, classifying and repairing software vulnerabilities

Abstract

Many Machine Learning(ML)-based approaches have been proposed to automatically detect, localize, and repair software vulnerabilities. While ML-based methods are more effective than program analysis-based vulnerability analysis tools, few have been integrated into modern Integrated Development Environments (IDEs), hindering practical adoption. To bridge this critical gap, we propose in this article AIBugHunter, a novel Machine Learning-based software vulnerability analysis tool for C/C++ languages that is integrated into the Visual Studio Code (VS Code) IDE. AIBugHunter helps software developers to achieve real-time vulnerability detection, explanation, and repairs during programming. In particular, AIBugHunter scans through developers’ source code to (1) locate vulnerabilities, (2) identify vulnerability types, (3) estimate vulnerability severity, and (4) suggest vulnerability repairs. We integrate our previous works (i.e., LineVul and VulRepair) to achieve vulnerability localization and repairs. In this article, we propose a novel multi-objective optimization (MOO)-based vulnerability classification approach and a transformer-based estimation approach to help AIBugHunter accurately identify vulnerability types and estimate severity. Our empirical experiments on a large dataset consisting of 188K+ C/C++ functions confirm that our proposed approaches are more accurate than other state-of-the-art baseline methods for vulnerability classification and estimation. Furthermore, we conduct qualitative evaluations including a survey study and a user study to obtain software practitioners’ perceptions of our AIBugHunter tool and assess the impact that AIBugHunter may have on developers’ productivity in security aspects. Our survey study shows that our AIBugHunter is perceived as useful where 90% of the participants consider adopting our AIBugHunter during their software development. Last but not least, our user study shows that our AIBugHunter can enhance developers’ productivity in combating cybersecurity issues during software development. AIBugHunter is now publicly available in the Visual Studio Code marketplace.

Bridging the Gap: A Survey and Classification of Research-Informed Ethical Hacking Tools

“…This approach aims to bridge the gap between industry and academia, enhancing the development and effectiveness of Ethical Hacking tools. [56], DFBC [69], ESASCF [73], ESRFuzzer [74], Firmaster [76], IoTFuzzer [83], LTESniffer [88], Lore [87], MaliceScript [92], Owfuzz [108], Pyciuti [118], RT-RCT [124], SVED [133], Scanner++ [125], ShoVAT [128], SuperEye [132], TOR-PEDO [136], UE Security Reloaded [137], Vulcan [142], Vulnsloit [146] Threat Modelling Cairis [60], ESSecA [75], HARMer [81], MAL [91], PenQuest [112], TAMELESS [134] Vulnerability Analysis AIBugHunter [52], ARMONY [53], AVAIN [55], Autosploit [54], Bbuzz [56], Black…”

“…AIBugHunter [52], ARMONY [53], AVAIN [55], AVAIN [55], Autosploit [54], Bbuzz [56], Black Ostrich [57], Black Widow [58], Bleem [59], Cairis [60], Censys [61], Chainsaw [62], Chucky [63], Commix [64], CryptoGuard [65], CuPerFuzzer [66], DFBC [69], Deemon [67], Delta [68], Delta [68], Diane [70], EBF [71], ELAID [72], ESASCF [73], ESRFuzzer [74], ESSecA [75], FUGIO [77], FUSE [78], Firmaster [76], Gail-PT [79], Gail-PT [79], HILTI [82], HILTI [82], IoTFuzzer [83], JCOMIX [84], LAID [85], LTESniffer [88], Link [86], Lore [87], Mace [89], MaliceScript [92], MaliceScript [92], Masat [93], Mirage [94], Mirage [94], Mitch [95], MoScan …”

Improving VulRepair’s Perfect Prediction by Leveraging the LION Optimizer

“…The purpose of the study was to examine VulRepair and improve the model. We gained a perspective by reviewing AIBughunter at [1], LineVul at [4], and VulRepair at [7]. In the VulRepair project, there are threats to their internal validity.…”

“…We specifically examined and reviewed the work of Mike Fu, as referenced earlier [1,4]. To find additional research related to VulRepair, we conducted searches on the Internet and Google Scholar, yielding over 100 articles.…”

“…AIBughunter is a tool that scans C / C++ programs, finds code that is vulnerable or susceptible to attack, identifies the CWE (Common Weakness Enumeration) type of vulnerability, estimates the CVSS (Common Vulnerability Scoring System) vulnerable severity score, explains the vulnerability, and suggests the proper repair. It was developed by the ASWM research group as reported by Fu et al, who stated that most vulnerabilities are found in C compared to other programming languages [1]. Although there are many Integrated Development Environments (IDEs), the tool can be found and installed in Visual Studio Code as an extension.…”