Open-source projects get free checkup by automated tools

Source: TheRegister.co.uk - Posted by Benjamin D. Thomas

More open-source software projects are gaining the benefits of the latest code-checking software, as the programs' makers look to prove their worth. On Tuesday, code-analysis software maker Coverity announced that its automated bug finding tool had analyzed the community-built operating system FreeBSD and flagged 306 potential software flaws, or about one issue for every 4,000 lines of code. The tool, which identifies certain types of programming errors, has previously been used to find flaws in other open-source software, including the Linux kernel and the MySQL database.

The low number of flaws found by the system underscores that FreeBSD's manual auditing by project members has reduced the vulnerabilities in the operating system, said Seth Hallem, CEO of Coverity. "FreeBSD - as well as OpenBSD and NetBS - are small communities which have made it a priority to build security into the operating system, and that has paid dividends," Hallem said.

Read this full article at TheRegister.co.uk

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