AFLplusplus/LibAFL

Stable-ish State Dump Format for Quck Resume

Open

#1,707 opened on Dec 1, 2023

View on GitHub
 (0 comments) (0 reactions) (0 assignees)Rust (476 forks)github user discovery
enhancementhelp wanted

Repository metrics

Stars
 (2,615 stars)
PR merge metrics
 (Avg merge 17d 22h) (10 merged PRs in 30d)

Description

Right now the serialized state depends on compile-time TypeIds that change every compilation. This means that a serialized state on disk is useless for smaller (non-metadata-changing) fixes on the fuzzer and resume. Instead of the more precise typeid, we could experiment with optionally (as a feature flag?) using type_name that may come with other drawbacks (same types may have different names/other types may have the same names?) but at leat will survive a recompilation.

Deserialize using type_id is currently in this file https://github.com/AFLplusplus/LibAFL/blob/5d83c9399a59e41d5484d0da0fa148fa62609233/libafl_bolts/src/serdeany.rs#L133

Contributor guide

Research direction
Investigate the use of `std::any::type name` as an alternative to `TypeId` for serialization keys. Explore trade offs like name stability vs. uniqueness. Check existing deserialization code in `libafl bolts/src/serdeany.rs` and consider a feature flag implementation.
Tech stack
rust
Domain
backend
Issue type
Feature
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
3
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
1-2 days
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
Active
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
Clear
Prerequisites
RustLibAFL basics
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
45