Enhanced string analysis that improves accuracy of static analysis

A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable storage medium having computer readable program code embodied therewith, the computer readable program code comprising code for:

• performing a static analysis of a program by an analysis tool, without the program being executed, comprising:
• generating a call graph by analyzing the program;
• determining, for the call graph, links between functions in the program and setting the program as a current program;
• performing string analysis on strings used in the current program to determine additional links between the functions in the current program without the program being executed, the performing string analysis comprising identifying calls, as the additional links for the call graph, in the current program to functions that execute strings as code and that will dynamically call functions in the current program based on the executed strings, and replacing code with the identified calls in the current program to functions that execute strings as code with other code explicitly calling the corresponding dynamically called functions to create a modified program;
• generating a modified call graph based on the modified program;
• in response to no new call being discovered by the analysis tool or a timeout being reached, outputting the modified program, and otherwise setting the current program as the modified program and performing string analysis again;
• and
• performing additional static analysis on the modified program using the modified call graph.

A method, comprising:

• performing, by a computing system, a static analysis of a program by an analysis tool, without the program being executed, comprising:
• generating a call graph by analyzing the program;
• determining, for the call graph, links between functions in the program and setting the program as a current program;
• performing string analysis on strings used in the current program to determine additional links between the functions in the current program without the program being executed, the performing string analysis comprising identifying calls, as the additional links for the call graph, in the current program to functions that execute strings as code and that will dynamically call functions in the current program based on the executed strings, and replacing code with the identified calls in the current program to functions that execute strings as code with other code explicitly calling the corresponding dynamically called functions to create a modified program;
• generating a modified call graph based on the modified program;
• in response to no new call being discovered by the analysis tool or a timeout being reached, outputting the modified program, and otherwise setting the current program as the modified program and performing string analysis again;
• and
• performing by the computing system additional static analysis on the modified program using the modified call graph.