From Model Checking to Runtime Verification and Back

TL;DR

This paper presents a method to adapt existing model checkers for precise runtime verification, enabling environment reconstruction from runtime data to enhance coverage without significant overhead.

Contribution

It introduces a novel approach for reusing model checkers in runtime verification and reconstructing execution environments to improve verification coverage.

Findings

Small, self-contained modifications enable reuse of model checkers for runtime verification.

Environment reconstruction from runtime data enhances model checking coverage.

Method maintains low overhead during runtime verification.

Abstract

We describe a novel approach for adapting an existing software model checker to perform precise runtime verification. The software under test is allowed to communicate with the wider environment (including the file system and network). The modifications to the model checker are small and self-contained, making this a viable strategy for re-using existing model checking tools in a new context. Additionally, from the data that is gathered during a single execution in the runtime verification mode, we automatically re-construct a description of the execution environment which can then be used in the standard, full-blown model checker. This additional verification step can further improve coverage, especially in the case of parallel programs, without introducing substantial overhead into the process of runtime verification.