The Role of Fuzz Testing in Continuous Integration Pipelines

1. Why Fuzz Testing is Essential for Security Assurance

2. 1 We’ve all experienced an app crash at some point, whether while uploading a file, entering our login details, or performing any routine user action. The experience is never pleasant. Now, imagine you’ve released an app into the market, and the moment users start interacting with it, they encounter an unexpected crash, which could be caused by a variety of factors, including file uploads, memory leaks, or Denial of Service (DoS) attacks. You’re left with dissatisfied users, a long list of error logs, and a tarnished brand image. This is your worst nightmare, right? But wait, that doesn’t end here. Every time you add a new feature or update your code, there’s a possible chance of failure. So, what’s the solution? Fuzz testing. In this blog post, we’ll explore everything you need to know about it: what fuzz testing is, the most effective techniques to use, and the best practices to follow. Let’s get started. What Is Fuzz Testing? Also known as fuzzing, it’s an automated software testing technique where a computer program is deliberately exposed to invalid, malformed, or random data to uncover hidden bugs and vulnerabilities that otherwise wouldn’t have been revealed through traditional testing methods. A fuzzer is a tool that generates these random test inputs based on a specific predefined set of values and injects the data into the program.

3. 2 The primary purpose of this type of test is to determine if the app crashes or behaves abnormally when subjected to stress. Fuzz testing helps identify security flaws in the source code, system instability, and input handling errors. It also highlights why knowing how to write test cases effectively is important—because even the most detailed manual test cases can miss the kind of unexpected errors fuzzing uncovers. Origin of Fuzz Testing: The Story Behind It Fuzzing was first discovered by Professor Barton Miller at the University of Wisconsin in 1988. He was working on a project to test the reliability of UNIX command-line programs. To assess the UNIX utilities, he fed a large number of random inputs into the system until it crashed. The failures revealed the weaknesses of the app. Miller’s team then debugged the crashes to observe the reason behind them. Later, the source code, testing techniques, and result data were made publicly available, allowing other researchers to conduct similar tests.

4. 3 Fuzz Testing Types 1. Grey box fuzzing This form of fuzzing falls somewhere in the middle, striking a balance between black-box and white-box fuzzing. The data is generated based on partial knowledge of the app. The fuzzer uses feedback to create inputs. Complete access to the source code is not required. Grey box fuzzing can be used for testing apps where code instrumentation or runtime feedback is available, such as open-source projects, compiled binaries, and APIs. 2. Black box fuzzing This is the most commonly used fuzzing method by testers. Black box fuzzing generates random data without any knowledge of the target app’s internal structure. The advantage here is that you don’t need access to the source code. But then, it might miss complex bugs. Black box fuzzing is apt for testing closed-source third-party web apps, protocols, and APIs. It checks the overall robustness of the app. 3. White box fuzzing Here, the tester has complete knowledge of the source code and internal structure of the app being tested. The input data is generated based on its operation. The approach is more targeted and, hence, more effective at finding intricate vulnerabilities.

5. 4 White box fuzzing is ideal for testing sensitive encryption algorithms and memory management functions. The test is directly integrated into the development phase, where you have access to the source code. Fuzz Testing Benefits A fuzzing tool probes every corner of your app, unearthing code anomalies. Here’s how: 1. Detects hidden bugs early Edge cases and rare bugs can snowball into bigger issues post-deployment if left untested. Fuzzing exposes your app to unexpected and invalid inputs to detect hidden vulnerabilities, such as memory leaks and buffer overflows, during the early development cycle. This helps reduce both the time and cost of fixing these issues at later stages. 2. Checks system robustness and security Your app should be able to handle a wide array of inputs without malfunctioning or leaking sensitive data. Fuzzers often simulate real-world inputs, such as gibberish text, various file formats (PDF, PNG, ZIP), configuration files (.json, .xml, .yaml), and protocol data (HTTP, DNS, FTP), to test how the system reacts.

6. 5 3. Improved reliability and stability before deployment After release, crashes can cost you users and money. Instead of manually sorting through hundreds of crash reports, automated bug triage quickly highlights the most serious issues and filters out duplicate reports. This lets your team fix the most important problems faster. How to Perform a Fuzz Test Conducting a fuzz test depends greatly on your app deliverables. Here’s a simple strategy to get you started. 1. Define fuzz target First things first, you need to identify the target areas you want to test. Focus on every data entry point, such as user inputs, file parses, API connections, encryptions basically, wherever attackers can potentially exploit data. Threat modeling helps you identify potential threat agents (such as hackers, malware, and third-party APIs) that could cause harm to your app. You can select fuzzing targets based on who your potential threat agents are and what their likely entry points are. For example, fintech apps are prone to identity theft, phishing, and malware attacks. So, your fuzz target should be login & authentication APIs, as well as multi-factor authentication. And password recovery flows.

7. 6 2. Choose the right fuzzing tool The fuzzing tool you select depends on the programming language you’re working with, the test target, and the complexity or scale of your project. You can choose a ready-made tool, such as PeachFuzzer, OSS-Fuzz, or LibFuzzer, or develop one on your own. Either way, it must meet requirements unique to your app. 3. Generate test data A fuzz testing output is only as good as the input test data you generate. Whether you choose random generation, mutation-based generation, or template-based generation, the idea is to create input that helps you catch even the slightest deviation in the app’s behavior. Your test data should ideally include malformed inputs such as typos, accidental key presses, or long strings of text, as well as simulate malicious payloads, large numbers, and empty fields. 4. Execute the fuzz test Once you have the input data in place, it’s time to put it into action. The fuzzer begins feeding that data into your app and closely tracking it for abnormalities and failures. In this stage, you must observe for any unexpected termination of the app, memory leaks, and abnormal resource usage.

8. 7 5. Report anomalies and fix them Fuzz tests generate a substantial amount of data. Therefore, it’s essential to monitor every crash and verify whether it is legitimate. Once you have executed the input, it’s time to analyze the crashes. Your fuzz testing tools must have already recorded the input that caused the crashes. Next, reproduce the input data and verify its legitimacy. use debugging tools like GDB, PyCharm, and LLDB to evaluate stack traces, memory content, and variables responsible for causing the crash. You can analyze the causes and develop viable methods to address them. Fuzzing isn’t a one-time thing. You must refine and generate new test cases that delve deeply to identify specific vulnerabilities. Common Tools for Fuzzing 1. ZZUF ZZUF is a transparent app input fuzz testing tool that works by intercepting system calls and making random alterations in the input data to test how well the app handles the tweaks. It’s well-suited for fuzzing file formats. 2. LibFuzzer LibFuzzer is built to perform coverage-guided fuzzing. It feeds fuzzed inputs via a target function, tracks bugs or crashes, and generates

9. 8 mutations to explore new code paths. It’s highly compatible with C/C++. 3. Peach Fuzzer Peach Fuzzer is an innovative fuzzing tool that enables both generation- and mutation-based fuzzing. It is primarily used to fuzz file formats, APIs, and network protocols. 4. Google OSS-Fuzz Google OSS-Fuzz is a free fuzz testing platform. It supports C/C++, Python, Java, Rust, Go, and several other languages, and provides comprehensive coverage through continuous testing. It’s ideal for large-scale open-source projects. 5. Google ClusterFuzz Google ClusterFuzz is a scalable fuzzing infrastructure designed mainly to run continuous fuzz tests on Google products. The best part is that it can run thousands of tests in parallel and supports multiple fuzzers, such as AFL and libFuzzer. Google ClusterFuzz is the fuzzing backend for OSS-Fuzz.

10. 9 Fuzz Testing Best Practices 1. Code instrumentation for comprehensive coverage Code instrumentation helps you track the parts of code that are being tested by feeding additional instructions into the source code or binary. The fuzzer uses the feedback to identify areas that have not been tested and modifies the input to test those areas. The aim is to make the test coverage as comprehensive as possible and effectively find edge cases without unnecessarily wasting time on already tested paths. 2. Integrate fuzzing into CI/CD pipelines Continuous fuzzing throughout your software development lifecycle (SDLC) enables quicker feedback to developers, who can work on fixing the bugs before they become a bigger problem. Note that fuzzing can take a considerable amount of time, depending on your input volume and target, so be mindful not to block the CI/CD pipelines for too long. Setting fixed periods dedicated to fuzz tests can help sort out the issue. 3. Combine other fuzzing techniques Fuzz testing is just one part of the equation. It doesn’t make your app foolproof. Combining other testing methods, such as integration/unit testing, as well as manual code reviews, can reveal more significant

11. 10 faults in the system. This multi-faceted testing approach improves your security posture and creates a more robust app. 4. Update fuzzing tools regularly Testing tool models evolve rapidly. Updates come with enhanced features and comprehensive coverage capabilities to safeguard your app against malicious attacks. Check for upgrades or subscribe to local repositories to stay current. Explore our guide on test cases for login pages to see how proper testing and automation improve security and reliability. Fuzz Testing Is a Continuous Process Every change in the codebase requires you to run a fuzz test and check whether the updates triggered any new vulnerabilities. TestGrid is an end-to-end AI testing platform that can enhance your fuzz testing strategy by integrating it into your continuous testing pipeline. With its AI‑driven automation and support for real devices and browsers, you can run fuzzing scripts alongside functional and UI tests, covering every part of the app. Source: For more details, readers may also refer to TestGrid.