Android is a complex platform with diverse, concurrently running services. In the past, we focused on privileged components such as fuzzing the secure monitor with EL3XIR, targeting trusted applications, or even surveying the use of rollback counters in trusted applications.

As more and more components get secured and hardened, we …

The C++ language combines a massive potential for raw power with the massive risk of type and memory safety violations. The developer is inherently responsible for securing all executed code and to guarantee type safety and memory safety. We are particularly focused on type safety. In C++, developers can cast …

JavaScript engines face a dilemma: on one end, they need to be extremely efficient as they are processing millions of lines of JavaScript code, dynamically translating complex programs into efficient code. On the other end, the code may be controlled by an attacker that is trying to exploit bugs in …

Sanitizers serve as the primary bug detection Oracle during automated testing. They "crash" the program gracefully and tell the fuzzer when and where a bug was triggered. The most well-known sanitizer is ASan or AddressSanitizer which adds redzones around memory objects to detect whenever an access is out-of-bounds. MSan or …

Hypervisors power not just the cloud but are becoming a commodity in mobile phones and desktops as well. They separate virtual machines from each other, enabling strong isolation and security guarantees. In cloud environments, hypervisors separate non-trusting virtual machines and an attacker may try to compromise and gain access to …

2024 was an active year for the HexHive research group, marked by tireless efforts to enhance the security of various complex systems. A key trend throughout the year was the continued evolution of fuzzing research. Notably, we observed a gradual shift away from general-purpose fuzzing as a primary research focus …

Niklaus Wirth, known for his work on programming languages and systems, died on January 1st, 2024 (ETH Zurich). Wirth was known for his work on programming languages and systems with a keen focus on simplicity and functionality for which he was awarded the 1984 Turing Award. His most well-known language …

In 2018, when I moved from Purdue University in the US to EPFL in Switzerland, I had the opportunity to apply for an ERC H2020 starting grant in computer science. ERC starting grants are similar to the NSF Career award and can be submitted up to 7 years after completing …

Every December a lot of prospective students reach out to faculty regarding PhD programs. This is the time where we review the students and assess their skills and potential along many dimensions such as past research, research ideas, engineering capabilities, and systems experience. These discussions along with the submission of …

Yesterday we concluded the NDSS20 PC meeting. In total, 12% of papers were accepted, 6% now have a short fuse major revision opportunity, in line with other top tier conferences. The PC chairs handled the meeting well, striving for positivity and feedback for the authors. Overall, this was a great …