Quach Anh. Attack Space Reduction through Software Hardening and Specialization Using Compiler and Binary Analysis

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science in the Graduate School of
Binghamton University State University of New York, – Binghamton University, Binghamton, 2020. - 151 p.Traditional software development favors a one-size-fits-all mentality which results in software with incremental complexity and packed with often unused features creating powerful resources for attacks as well as obstacles for defenses: critical gadgets for code-reuse attacks, add complexity for analysis, vulnerabilities for crafting and escalating exploits, etc.