Security bugs in embedded interpreters

Abstract

Because embedded interpreters offer flexibility and performance, they are becoming more prevalent, and can be found at nearly every level of the software stack. As one example, the Linux kernel defines languages to describe packet filtering rules and uses embedded interpreters to filter packets at run time. As another example, the RAR archive format allows embedding bytecode in compressed files to describe reversible transformations for decompression. This paper presents an analysis of common pitfalls in embedded interpreter implementations, which can lead to security vulnerabilities, and their impact. We hope that these results are useful both in augmenting existing embedded interpreters and in aiding developers in building new, more secure embedded interpreters.