Constraint-Based Relational Verification

Hiroshi Unno, Tachio Terauchi, Eric Koskinen

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

27 Scopus citations

Abstract

In recent years they have been numerous works that aim to automate relational verification. Meanwhile, although Constrained Horn Clauses (CHCs ) empower a wide range of verification techniques and tools, they lack the ability to express hyperproperties beyond k-safety such as generalized non-interference and co-termination. This paper describes a novel and fully automated constraint-based approach to relational verification. We first introduce a new class of predicate Constraint Satisfaction Problems called pfwCSP where constraints are represented as clauses modulo first-order theories over predicate variables of three kinds: ordinary, well-founded, or functional. This generalization over CHCs permits arbitrary (i.e., possibly non-Horn) clauses, well-foundedness constraints, functionality constraints, and is capable of expressing these relational verification problems. Our approach enables us to express and automatically verify problem instances that require non-trivial (i.e., non-sequential and non-lock-step) self-composition by automatically inferring appropriate schedulers (or alignment) that dictate when and which program copies move. To solve problems in this new language, we present a constraint solving method for pfwCSP based on stratified CounterExample-Guided Inductive Synthesis (CEGIS) of ordinary, well-founded, and functional predicates. We have implemented the proposed framework and obtained promising results on diverse relational verification problems that are beyond the scope of the previous verification frameworks.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationComputer Aided Verification - 33rd International Conference, CAV 2021, Proceedings
EditorsAlexandra Silva, K. Rustan Leino
Pages742-766
Number of pages25
DOIs
StatePublished - 2021
Event33rd International Conference on Computer Aided Verification, CAV 2021 - Virtual, Online
Duration: 20 Jul 202123 Jul 2021

Publication series

NameLecture Notes in Computer Science (including subseries Lecture Notes in Artificial Intelligence and Lecture Notes in Bioinformatics)
Volume12759 LNCS
ISSN (Print)0302-9743
ISSN (Electronic)1611-3349

Conference

Conference33rd International Conference on Computer Aided Verification, CAV 2021
CityVirtual, Online
Period20/07/2123/07/21

Keywords

  • CEGIS
  • Constraint solving
  • Relational verification

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