# CVE → Symbol Mapping
_Last updated: 2025-12-22. Owner: Scanner Guild + Concelier Guild._
This document describes how Stella Ops maps CVE identifiers to specific binary symbols/functions for precise reachability analysis.
---
## 1. Overview
To determine if a vulnerability is reachable, we need to know which specific functions are affected. The **CVE→Symbol Mapping** service bridges:
- **CVE identifiers** (e.g., `CVE-2024-1234`)
- **Package coordinates** (e.g., `pkg:npm/lodash@4.17.21`)
- **Affected symbols** (e.g., `lodash.template`, `openssl:EVP_PKEY_decrypt`)
---
## 2. Data Sources
### 2.1 Patch Diff Analysis
The highest-fidelity source: analyze git commits that fix vulnerabilities.
```
CVE-2024-1234 fixed in commit abc123
→ Diff shows changes to:
- src/crypto.c: EVP_PKEY_decrypt() [modified]
- src/crypto.c: decrypt_internal() [added guard]
→ Affected symbols: EVP_PKEY_decrypt, decrypt_internal
```
**Implementation**: `StellaOps.Scanner.VulnSurfaces.PatchDiffAnalyzer`
### 2.2 Advisory Metadata
Structured advisories with function-level detail:
- **OSV** (`affected[].ranges[].events[].introduced/fixed`)
- **NVD CPE** with CWE → typical affected patterns
- **Vendor advisories** (GitHub, npm, PyPI security advisories)
**Implementation**: `StellaOps.Concelier.Connectors.*`
### 2.3 Heuristic Inference
When precise mappings unavailable:
1. **All public exports** of affected package version
2. **CWE-based patterns** (e.g., CWE-79 XSS → output functions)
3. **Function name patterns** (e.g., `*_decrypt*`, `*_parse*`)
**Implementation**: `StellaOps.Scanner.VulnSurfaces.HeuristicMapper`
---
## 3. Mapping Confidence Tiers
| Tier | Source | Confidence | Example |
|------|--------|------------|---------|
| **Confirmed** | Patch diff analysis | 0.95–1.0 | Exact function from git diff |
| **Likely** | Advisory with function names | 0.7–0.9 | OSV with `affected.functions[]` |
| **Inferred** | CWE/pattern heuristics | 0.4–0.6 | All exports of vulnerable version |
| **Unknown** | No data available | 0.0–0.3 | Package-level only |
---
## 4. Query Interface
### 4.1 Service Contract
```csharp
public interface IVulnSurfaceService
{
///
/// Get symbols affected by a CVE for a specific package.
///
Task GetAffectedSymbolsAsync(
string cveId,
string purl,
VulnSurfaceOptions? options = null,
CancellationToken ct = default);
///
/// Batch query for multiple CVE+PURL pairs.
///
Task> GetAffectedSymbolsBatchAsync(
IEnumerable<(string CveId, string Purl)> queries,
CancellationToken ct = default);
}
```
### 4.2 Result Model
```csharp
public sealed record VulnSurfaceResult
{
public required string CveId { get; init; }
public required string Purl { get; init; }
public required ImmutableArray Symbols { get; init; }
public required VulnSurfaceSource Source { get; init; }
public required double Confidence { get; init; }
public DateTimeOffset? CachedAt { get; init; }
}
public sealed record AffectedSymbol
{
public required string Name { get; init; }
public required string SymbolId { get; init; }
public string? File { get; init; }
public int? Line { get; init; }
public string? Signature { get; init; }
public SymbolChangeType ChangeType { get; init; }
}
public enum VulnSurfaceSource
{
PatchDiff,
Advisory,
Heuristic,
Unknown
}
public enum SymbolChangeType
{
Modified, // Function code changed
Added, // New guard/check added
Removed, // Vulnerable code removed
Renamed // Function renamed
}
```
---
## 5. Integration with Concelier
The CVE→Symbol mapping service integrates with Concelier's advisory feed:
```
┌─────────────────┐ ┌──────────────────┐ ┌───────────────────┐
│ Scanner │────►│ VulnSurface │────►│ Concelier │
│ (Query) │ │ Service │ │ Advisory API │
└─────────────────┘ └──────────────────┘ └───────────────────┘
│
▼
┌──────────────────┐
│ Patch Diff │
│ Analyzer │
└──────────────────┘
```
### 5.1 Advisory Client
```csharp
public interface IAdvisoryClient
{
Task GetAdvisoryAsync(string cveId, CancellationToken ct);
Task> GetAffectedPackagesAsync(
string cveId,
CancellationToken ct);
}
```
### 5.2 Caching Strategy
| Data | TTL | Invalidation |
|------|-----|--------------|
| Advisory metadata | 1 hour | On feed update |
| Patch diff results | 24 hours | On new CVE revision |
| Heuristic mappings | 15 minutes | On query |
---
## 6. Offline Support
For air-gapped environments:
### 6.1 Pre-computed Bundles
```
offline-bundles/
vuln-surfaces/
cve-2024-*.json # Pre-computed mappings
ecosystem-npm.json # NPM ecosystem mappings
ecosystem-pypi.json # PyPI ecosystem mappings
```
### 6.2 Bundle Format
```json
{
"version": "1.0.0",
"generatedAt": "2025-12-22T00:00:00Z",
"mappings": {
"CVE-2024-1234": {
"pkg:npm/lodash@4.17.21": {
"symbols": ["template", "templateSettings"],
"source": "patch_diff",
"confidence": 0.95
}
}
}
}
```
---
## 7. Fallback Behavior
When no mapping is available:
1. **Ecosystem-specific defaults**:
- npm: All `exports` from package.json
- PyPI: All public functions (`__all__`)
- Native: All exported symbols (`.dynsym`)
2. **Conservative approach**:
- Mark all public APIs as potentially affected
- Set confidence = 0.3 (Inferred tier)
- Include explanation in verdict reasons
3. **Manual override**:
- Allow user-provided symbol lists via policy
- Support suppression rules for known false positives
---
## 8. Performance Considerations
| Metric | Target | Notes |
|--------|--------|-------|
| Cache hit rate | >90% | Most queries hit cache |
| Cold query latency | <500ms | Concelier API call |
| Batch throughput | >100 queries/sec | Parallel execution |
---
## 9. Example Queries
### Simple Query
```http
POST /api/vuln-surfaces/query
Content-Type: application/json
{
"cveId": "CVE-2024-1234",
"purl": "pkg:npm/lodash@4.17.21"
}
```
Response:
```json
{
"cveId": "CVE-2024-1234",
"purl": "pkg:npm/lodash@4.17.21",
"symbols": [
{
"name": "template",
"symbolId": "js:lodash/template",
"file": "lodash.js",
"line": 14850,
"changeType": "modified"
}
],
"source": "patch_diff",
"confidence": 0.95
}
```
### Batch Query
```http
POST /api/vuln-surfaces/batch
Content-Type: application/json
{
"queries": [
{"cveId": "CVE-2024-1234", "purl": "pkg:npm/lodash@4.17.21"},
{"cveId": "CVE-2024-5678", "purl": "pkg:pypi/requests@2.28.0"}
]
}
```
---
## 10. Related Documentation
- [Slice Schema](./slice-schema.md)
- [Patch Oracles](./patch-oracles.md)
- [Concelier Architecture](../modules/concelier/architecture.md)
- [Vulnerability Surfaces](../modules/scanner/vuln-surfaces.md)
---
_Created: 2025-12-22. See Sprint 3810 for implementation details._