Overview

TheHuzz is a processor instruction-fuzzing tool introduced by the paper TheHuzz: Instruction Fuzzing of Processors Using Golden-Reference Models for Finding Software-Exploitable Vulnerabilities. The paper appeared in the proceedings of the 31st USENIX Security Symposium (USENIX Security 22) in 2022, on pages 3219--3236. [C1]

Evidence-backed characterization

The directly supported characterization of TheHuzz is that it:

• performs instruction fuzzing of processors; [C2]
• uses golden-reference models; [C2]
• targets the discovery of software-exploitable vulnerabilities. [C2]

The USENIX record lists the paper authors as Rahul Kande, Addison Crump, Garrett Persyn, Patrick Jauernig, Ahmad-Reza Sadeghi, Aakash Tyagi, and Jeyavijayan Rajendran. [C3]

Later context

A later HARTBREAKER paper excerpt includes TheHuzz in a table of CPU/hardware fuzzing and testing approaches considered when discussing the gap between single-hart and multi-hart CPU testing. The same excerpt states that hardware fuzzing has been effective for finding RISC-V CPU bugs in single-hart settings, while multi-hart non-determinism remained a challenge; however, the provided excerpt does not give TheHuzz-specific experimental results. [C4]

Scope notes

Claims from the previous article about Cascade-specific comparisons, ChatFuzz comparisons, coverage values, mutation profiling details, or runtime overhead are not retained here because those claims are not supported by the evidence provided for this refresh.