Build SEAL library using Clang with Static Analyzer on Ubuntu Linux

build-seal-with-clang-sa.md

This short memo gives instructions on how to build the Microsoft Research's Simple Encrypted Arithmetic Library (SEAL) using LLVM/Clang, and also with the Clang Static Analyzer for software quality/security assurance.

The SEAL Library

The SEAL Library can be downloaded at its website http://sealcrypto.org (it redirects to a Microsoft page). The version of SEAL we use for this demonstration is SEAL_v2.3.0-4_Linux.tar.gz (available at https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=56202).

Installation of Clang/LLVM on Ubuntu 16.04

For support of C++ 11, we need Clang 3.3 and above. As of April 2018, The current default version of Clang on Ubuntu 16.04 is clang-3.8. Install with aptitude:

sudo aptitude install clang

It installed clang to /usr/bin/clang, which is a symbolic link to /usr/lib/llvm-3.8/bin/clang.

Build SEAL using Clang

1. First decompress the tarball, and change to the source directory:

   tar xvfz SEAL_v2.3.0-4_Linux.tar.gz
   cd SEAL/SEAL
   

2. Run the ./configure command to generate the build scripts:

   ./configure
   

3. Make a copy of the generated Makefile:

   cp Makefile Makefile.clang
   

4. Open Makefile.clang for edit. Replace the line CXX=g++ with CXX=clang++.

5. Open seal/util/defines.h for edit. Comment out (or delete) the following lines:

   // GNU GCC/G++
   #if defined(__GNUC__) && (__GNUC__ < 5)
   #error "SEAL requires __GNUC__ >= 5" 
   #endif
   

6. Build using clang with the static analyzer

   scan-build make -f Makefile.clang
   

7. Inspect the Clang static analyzer generated report for potential bugs. One may use the scan-view tool or just open the index.html file with a browser.