Exploiting Pointer Analysis in Memory Models for Deductive Verification

TL;DR

This paper presents a framework that integrates pointer analysis with deductive verification for C programs, improving verification precision and efficiency by modeling memory partitioning.

Contribution

It introduces a memory model-based framework that aligns pointer analysis with deductive verification, enabling precise and adaptable verification of pointer-rich C programs.

Findings

Effective reduction in verification complexity

Precise memory partitioning information provided

Successful implementation within Frama-C platform

Abstract

Cooperation between verification methods is crucial to tackle the challenging problem of software verification. The paper focuses on the verification of C programs using pointers and it formalizes a cooperation between static analyzers doing pointer analysis and a deductive verification tool based on first order logic. We propose a framework based on memory models that captures the partitioning of memory inferred by pointer analyses, and complies with the memory models used to generate verification conditions. The framework guided us to propose a pointer analysis that accommodates to various low-level operations on pointers while providing precise information about memory partitioning to the deductive verification. We implemented this cooperation inside the Frama-C platform and we show its effectiveness in reducing the task of deductive verification on a complex case study.