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The Cybersecurity Project Handbook: 32 Hands-On Projects for Offensive, Defensive & Emerging Domains

Project Chapter 18

Chapter 18 — OpenSourceShield

Based on: SIH1746 — Improving Open Source Software Security using Fuzzing (NCIIPC)

Skills Required:

  • Open source security
  • Software fuzzing techniques (mutation-based, coverage-guided)
  • DevSecOps pipelines and automation
  • Python programming for tooling and scripting
  • GitHub Actions or Jenkins for CI/CD
  • Basic Linux and containerization (Docker)

Project Description

OpenSourceShield is a fuzzing platform specifically designed to enhance the security of open source software. It integrates with CI/CD pipelines to continuously fuzz open source projects, identifying memory corruption, crash, and logic vulnerabilities early in the development process. The platform supports custom fuzz harnesses, coverage instrumentation, crash triage, and automated reporting, enabling maintainers to proactively secure their codebases.

Tech Stack

  • Python for custom fuzzing tooling
  • AFL, LibFuzzer, or Boofuzz fuzzing engines
  • Code coverage tools (gcov, llvm-cov) for feedback
  • CI/CD pipelines (GitHub Actions, Jenkins) integration
  • Docker containers for test environment isolation
  • Crash analysis tools and dashboards

Week-wise Plan

Week 1 — Environment Setup & Target Selection

  • Setup fuzzing environment with chosen fuzzers and instrumentation tools.
  • Select open source targets (libraries, utilities) for initial fuzzing campaigns.
  • Define fuzz harnesses specifying input formats.
  • Deliverable: Baseline fuzzing environment for selected targets.

Week 2 — Corpus Collection and Mutation Strategies

  • Collect initial input corpora from sample files and usage data.
  • Implement or customize mutation engines for targeted input variations.
  • Deliverable: Enhanced mutation modules and corpus baseline.

Week 3 — Coverage Instrumentation & Feedback Loop

  • Integrate coverage tools for feedback-driven fuzzing enhancement.
  • Implement loop for prioritizing input mutations improving coverage.
  • Deliverable: Coverage-guided fuzzing prototype.

Week 4 — Crash Triage & Deduplication

  • Build modules for crash detection, classification, and deduplication.
  • Develop logging and bug report generation to assist developers.
  • Deliverable: Crash triage system with sample reports.

Week 5 — Integration with CI/CD Pipelines

  • Automate fuzzing runs triggered on pull requests and commits.
  • Provide build and environment setup within CI using containers.
  • Deliverable: Continuous fuzzing integrated in pipeline.

Week 6 — Dashboard and Reporting

  • Develop dashboard showing run status, crash statistics, and coverage trends.
  • Implement alerting mechanisms for critical crashes.
  • Deliverable: Interactive dashboard with alerting.

Week 7 — Scaling and Multi-Project Support

  • Design system to run simultaneous multiple fuzz campaigns.
  • Implement resource management and scheduling.
  • Deliverable: Scalable fuzzing platform.

Week 8 — Documentation and Final Testing

  • Test fuzzing on a broad set of open source projects.
  • Document setup, customization, developer guides.
  • Deliverable: Production-ready platform with full documentation.

Testing and Deliverables

  • Run fuzzing on popular OSS like OpenSSL, SQLite, and curl.
  • Validate crash discovery and reduction of false positives.
  • Deliver source code, CI/CD configs, dashboards, and demo walkthroughs.