Content area

Abstract

We explore the possibility of accelerating the formal verification of classical programs with a quantum computer. A common source of security flaws stems from the existence of common programming errors like use after free, null-pointer dereference, or division by zero. To aid in the discovery of such errors, we try to verify that no such flaws exist. In our approach, for some code snippet and undesired behaviour, a SAT instance is generated, which is satisfiable precisely if the behavior is present in the code. It is in turn converted to an optimization problem, that is solved on a quantum computer. This approach holds the potential of an asymptotically polynomial speedup. Minimal examples of common errors, like out-of-bounds and overflows, but also synthetic instances with special properties, specific number of solutions, or structure, are tested with different solvers and tried on a quantum device. We use the near-standard Quantum Approximation Optimisation Algorithm, an application of the Grover algorithm, and the Quantum Singular Value Transformation to find the optimal solution, and with it a satisfying assignment.

Details

1009240
Title
Towards Classical Software Verification using Quantum Computers
Publication title
arXiv.org; Ithaca
Publication year
2024
Publication date
Apr 29, 2024
Section
Computer Science; Quantum Physics
Publisher
Cornell University Library, arXiv.org
Source
arXiv.org
Place of publication
Ithaca
Country of publication
United States
University/institution
Cornell University Library arXiv.org
e-ISSN
2331-8422
Source type
Working Paper
Language of publication
English
Document type
Working Paper
Publication history
 
 
Online publication date
2024-04-30
Milestone dates
2024-04-29 (Submission v1)
Publication history
 
 
   First posting date
30 Apr 2024
ProQuest document ID
3049777663
Document URL
https://www.proquest.com/working-papers/towards-classical-software-verification-using/docview/3049777663/se-2?accountid=208611
Full text outside of ProQuest
Copyright
© 2024. This work is published under http://arxiv.org/licenses/nonexclusive-distrib/1.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.
Last updated
2024-05-02
Database
ProQuest One Academic