# On the (in)efficiency of fuzzing network protocols

## TL;DR

This paper explores why fuzzing network protocols is inefficient and suggests ways to improve the process.

## Contribution

The paper provides a comprehensive analysis of inefficiencies in fuzzing network protocols and strategies to reduce them.

## Key findings

- Fuzzing network protocols is inefficient due to high overheads.
- Strategies exist to reduce fuzzing overheads and improve efficiency.
- The work builds on prior research to offer a broader overview of the problem.

## Abstract

Fuzzing is a widely used and effective technique to test software. Unfortunately, certain systems, including network protocols, are more challenging to fuzz than others. An important complication with fuzzing network protocols is that this tends to be a slow process, which is problematic as fuzzing involves many test inputs. This article analyzes the root causes behind the inefficiency of fuzzing network protocols and strategies to avoid them. It extends our earlier work on network protocol fuzzers, which explored some of these strategies, to give a more comprehensive overview of overheads in fuzzing and ways to reduce them.