Secure Programming with Static Analysis

4. Static Analysis Internals

Those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt the people doing it.

–CHINESE PROVERB

This chapter is about what makes static analysis tools tick. We look at the internal workings of advanced static analysis tools, including data structures, analysis techniques, rules, and approaches to reporting results. Our aim is to explain enough about what goes into a static analysis tool that you can derive maximum benefit from the tools you use. For readers interested in creating their own tools, we hope to lay enough groundwork to provide a reasonable starting point.

Regardless of the analysis techniques used, all static analysis tools that target security function in roughly the same way, as shown in Figure 4.1. They ...