The Aegis VM Project is an ongoing effort to develop a lightweight, secure virtual machine for executing Java bytecode. The VM is intended to be an extension framework for applications or devices that dynamically load and execute untrusted extensions. The Aegis VM will eventually feature a modular bytecode verification architecture, Proof Linking, which supports pluggable verification modules so that various static verification or analysis technologies can be integrated into the VM's dynamic linking process with minimal efforts. This benefit is achieved by allowing verification sessions to communicate with each other only through explicit formulation of proof obligations, the discharging of which is scheduled to happen at specific points of the dynamic linking process to protect the integrity of the VM. A generic framework for formulating, scheduling, and discharging proof obligations is built into the VM.
