Supporting dynamic analysis for multi-language applications

WebAssembly (Wasm) is a binary format that can be used as an execution target for many different programming languages, even allowing the use of multiple languages within one application. Multilanguage support is interesting as it enables the use of dedicated languages for different requirements. However, there are unaddressed issues with the development of such applications, mainly related to program comprehension and code quality. Developers typically use dynamic analysis tools for understanding and managing program complexity. However, current dynamic analysis frameworks for Wasm are too limited. We identified three main limitations in the state-of-the-art, which we believe hamper the use of dynamic analysis for Wasm. First, current approaches cannot modify the target program runtime state. This makes it impossible to implement analyses that require runtime mutation, e.g. program repair. Second, developers need to implement the analyses at the bytecode level, losing access to high-level code. Finally, any reasoning about interoperation between languages is not supported.
We aim to build a binary instrumentation platform that tackles these challenges. First, we will investigate support for runtime modifications. Second, devise a uniform interface that allows developers to write analyses in terms of high-level operations. Finally, we will augment the interface with interoperability support to devise a multi-language dynamic analysis framework for Wasm.