Fwd: Fuchen Ma on Dec 4

[Alan Karp]

--------------
Alan Karp

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Aditi Partap via security-seminar <security...@lists.stanford.edu>
Date: Fri, Nov 28, 2025 at 10:31 AM
Subject: Fuchen Ma on Dec 4
To: security...@lists.stanford.edu <security...@lists.stanford.edu>

 Villain in the Dark Forest: Fuzzing and Chaos Testing for

                     Blockchain Systems

                         Fuchen Ma

                 Thursday, December 4, 2025

                       Talk at 4:00pm

                      CoDA W201 & Zoom

Abstract:

Blockchain systems are built on the promise of trustless and secure

decentralized computing.  Yet, their inherent complexity and adversarial

operating environment leave them vulnerable to subtle but critical bugs

that often evade conventional testing methods.  How can we proactively

uncover these hidden vulnerabilities before they are exploited

maliciously?

This talk introduces a framework for enhancing blockchain resilience by

strategically adopting the adversary's perspective.  We present a

systematic approach to fuzzing and chaos engineering, deploying "inside

agents" within a blockchain network.  These agents deliberately

orchestrate node-level disruptions, including state-aware consensus

packet mutation, data storage pollution, and logic-level bug oracles.

This framework has successfully detected over 50 bugs in major systems

like Go-Ethereum and Hyperledger Fabric.  It has been integrated into

WeBank's FISCO BCOS and is currently being adopted by Aptos and Pharos,

proving its practical value in securing real-world blockchain

infrastructures.

Bio:

Fuchen Ma is a postdoctoral researcher at Tsinghua University.  He

received his Ph.D.  from Tsinghua in 2024, advised by Prof.  Jiaguang

Sun and Prof.  Yu Jiang.  His research focuses on fuzz testing for

blockchain and distributed systems, including protocol implementations.

As first author, he has published his papers in top security venues such

as IEEE S&P, CCS, USENIX Security, and NDSS.  His doctoral dissertation

received the Excellent Doctoral Dissertation Award from the China

Institute of Electronics.  In 2021, he was named a Tencent Elite Talent

and selected as MVP of the Year by the FISCO BCOS community.  In 2025,

he received a grant from the Aptos Foundation to integrate his fuzzing

tool into the Aptos blockchain.

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