Software similarity searching

Inventor: Nathaniel J. Lawson (Oakland, CA)

Assignee: ORCHARD VALLEY MANAGEMENT LLC

G06F17/301 G06F17/2211 G06F21/105

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Quick Facts

Patent No.: US 9,720,925
App. No.: 13/840,871
Granted: Aug 1, 2017
Kind: B1

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Abstract

Similarity analysis of software is disclosed. An input file is received. Pairs of files that consist of the input file and files included in a corpus are categorized into one of a possible match and a mismatch. Those pairs classified as possible matches are analyzed using a pairwise component analysis.

Claims (65)

1. A computing device, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the computing device to:

receive an input binary file;

categorize, into a possible match or a mismatch, pairs of binary files consisting of (i) the input binary file, and (ii) a selected binary file included in a corpus of files;

analyze each of the pairs of binary files classified as a possible match using a pairwise component analysis that involves:

carrying out a first process that involves exact-matching a first pair of binary files to generate a first comparison value, and

when the first comparison value satisfies a threshold value of matching:

preventing the first pair of binary files from being further analyzed,

carrying out a second process that involves exact-matching a second pair of binary files to generate a second comparison value, and

when the second comparison value does not satisfy the threshold value of matching:

carrying out a third process that involves approximate-matching the second pair of binary files to produce a respective similarity score for the second pair of binary files; and

output the respective similarity score for at least one of the pairs of binary files.

2. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the input binary file is an archive that comprises a plurality of files.

3. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the input binary file is included in an archive that comprises a plurality of files.

4. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein, when the first comparison value satisfies the threshold value of matching, the at least one processor further causes the computing device to:

prevent outputting the respective similarity score for the first pair of binary files.

5. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor further causes the computing device to:

provide, as an output, a report that indicates that the input binary file includes open source software.

6. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor further causes the computing device to:

provide, as an output, a report that indicates that the input binary file is subject to a license.

7. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor further causes the computing device to:

display a monetary charge associated with the input binary file.

8. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein, as a result of the pairwise component analysis, a forensic determination is made as to whether particular code is common in the pairs of binary files.

9. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the pairwise component analysis is performed with respect to subsets of the pairs of binary files.

10. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor further causes the computing device to:

provide, as an output, a report that establishes a correspondence between at least one of: (i) code, and (ii) data items for one of the pairs of binary files.

11. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor further causes the computing device to:

provide, as an output, a report that correlates source code with matching subsets of one of the pairs of binary files.

12. The computing device of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor further causes the computing device to:

automatically generate at least one report in response to a continual supply of input binary files.

13. At least one non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing instructions that, when executed by at least one processor included in a computing device, cause the computing device to: