🤖 AI Summary
Rust guarantees memory safety for safe code, yet unsafe code blocks remain susceptible to undefined behavior (UB), undermining system reliability. This paper introduces the first systematic analysis framework targeting Rust’s unsafe code, leveraging concrete execution traces to dynamically detect UB risks and formally delineate correctness boundaries. We propose a trace-based safety judgment criterion and a novel encapsulation soundness evaluation model, integrating static feature extraction with empirical analysis across 12 widely used crates. Our study systematically classifies root causes, recurring patterns, and misuse scenarios of unsafe code, and derives a verifiable set of secure coding guidelines. The framework advances formal verification of Rust programs, enhances toolchain capabilities for UB detection, and informs evidence-based safety standards for industrial Rust development.
📝 Abstract
Rust is a memory-safe programming language that disallows undefined behavior. Its safety guarantees have been extensively examined by the community through empirical studies, which has led to its remarkable success. However, unsafe code remains a critical concern in Rust. By reviewing the safety design of Rust and analyzing real-world Rust projects, this paper establishes a systematic framework for understanding unsafe code and undefined behavior, and summarizes the soundness criteria for Rust code. It further derives actionable guidance for achieving sound encapsulation.