microfuzz

Microfuzz is a term that has emerged in recent years to describe a specific type of fuzzing technique. Fuzzing is a software testing method that involves providing invalid, unexpected, or random data as input to a computer program. The goal is to discover bugs, security vulnerabilities, and other errors. Microfuzz, in particular, focuses on generating very small, often minimal, input mutations. Instead of generating entirely random inputs or making large, complex changes to existing inputs, microfuzzing operations are typically very granular. This can involve toggling a single bit, changing a single byte, or making other subtle modifications to the input data.

The rationale behind microfuzzing is that many vulnerabilities can be triggered by very specific, small changes to input data. By systematically exploring these tiny variations, microfuzzing aims to uncover edge cases and subtle bugs that might be missed by broader fuzzing approaches. This method can be particularly effective for testing parsers, network protocols, and file format handlers, where seemingly minor data alterations can lead to unexpected behavior. While not a standalone replacement for all fuzzing techniques, microfuzzing can be a valuable complementary strategy, especially when combined with other fuzzing approaches that explore a wider input space. Its efficiency in generating a large number of test cases with minimal computational overhead also makes it attractive for certain testing scenarios.