Symbolic Execution: Its Rise and Resurgence

PhD Qualifying Examination


Title: "Symbolic Execution: Its Rise and Resurgence"

by

Mr. Shuangjie YAO


Abstract:

Symbolic execution is a powerful program analysis technique that 
systematically explores program paths by treating inputs as symbolic 
variables rather than concrete values. This survey traces the evolution of 
symbolic execution from its early foundations to its contemporary revival. 
We start by unpacking the design and components of traditional symbolic 
execution engines involving: the path selection strategies designed to 
mitigate path explosion, the memory models for handling symbolic addresses, 
the constraint solvers including optimizations designed for performance, and 
the mechanisms for modeling environmental interactions.

Subsequently, we explore the evolution of the field by introducing its 
principal variants. Under-constrained and compositional symbolic execution 
enhance scalability and modularity by analyzing code in isolation and 
generating function summaries. Symbolic backward execution efficiently 
targets specific program locations. Concolic execution is an influential 
hybrid approach that grounds symbolic exploration with concrete execution to 
deal with real-world complexities.

Finally, we examine the latest and most influential trend: the integration 
of artificial intelligence. We trace the progression from early machine 
learning techniques with small models to the recent paradigm shift driven by 
large language models (LLMs). LLMs are now being applied to sophisticated 
tasks such as semantic constraint solving, structured input generation, 
end-to-end program analysis and so on. We conclude by synthesizing these 
developments and pointing out future directions, where a deeper combination 
between symbolic execution and advanced AI is set to unlock new frontiers 
in automated program analysis.


Date:                   Tuesday, 2 December 2025

Time:                   3:00pm - 5:00pm

Venue:                  Room 3494
                        Lifts 25/26

Committee Members:      Dr. Dongdong She (Supervisor)
                        Dr. Shuai Wang (Chairperson)
                        Dr. Xiaomin Ouyang
                        Dr. Dimitris Papadopoulos