An Effective Methodology for Integrating Concolic Testing with SystemC-based Virtual Prototypes

Abstract

We propose an effective methodology for integrating Concolic Testing (CT) with SystemC-based Virtual Prototypes (VPs) for verification of embedded SW binaries. Our methodology involves three steps: 1) integrating CT support with the Instruction Set Simulator (ISS) of the VP, 2) utilizing the standard TLM-2.0 extension mechanism for transporting concolic values alongside generic TLM transactions, and 3) providing lightweight concolic overlays for SystemC-based peripherals that enable non-intrusive CT support for peripherals and thus significantly reduce the CT integration effort. Our RISC-V experiments using the RIOT operating system demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach.