PhD Position F/M [Campagne Allocation Région 2025] Automatic Generation of Attack Chains for Detecting and Preventing Software Vulnerability (F/M)

Created in 2008, the Inria center at the University of Lille employs 360 people, including 305 scientists in 15 research teams. Recognized for its strong involvement in the socio-economic development of the Hauts-De-France region, the Inria center at the University of Lille maintains a close relationship with large companies and SMEs. By fostering synergies between researchers and industry, Inria contributes to the transfer of skills and expertise in the field of digital technologies, and provides access to the best of European and international research for the benefit of innovation and businesses, particularly in the region.

For over 10 years, the Inria center at the University of Lille has been at the heart of Lille's university and scientific ecosystem, as well as at the heart of Frenchtech, with a technology showroom based on avenue de Bretagne in Lille, on the EuraTechnologies site of economic excellence dedicated to information and communication technologies (ICT).

Within the framework of a partnership (you can choose between)

• not applicable

The goal is to develop methods, techniques and tools to prevent deserialization attacks in applications.

Is regular travel foreseen for this post ? No

Assignments :
The recruited person will be taken to: (1) develop a modular approach to vulnerability analysis, (2) build a tool dedicated to the automatic generation of attack chains via fuzzing and mutation and (3) study the history and semantics of code changes for the understanding of attacks. Prototypes will be developed in the Pharo language.

For a better knowledge of the proposed research subject :
A state of the art, bibliography and scientific references are available at the following URL, do not hesitate to log in: 

https://www.inria.fr/fr/evref.

Collaboration :

The recruited person will be in connection with the members of the EVREF team who have skills in software analysis and software quality to meet the challenges defined in this thesis.

Responsibilities :

The person recruited is responsible for: 

• Conducting original research related to the problem of vulnerability detection within the framework of this thesis.
• Performing scientific monitoring to stay up to date with advancements in the field of software analysis for vulnerability detection.
• Carrying out simulations and analyses of existing software attacks to define their behavior.
• Writing scientific papers and present work at national and international conferences.
• Collaborating with other researchers in the EVREF team and take part in team and GL working group meetings in the laboratory.
• Participating in team meetings and activities (including EVREF Sprints and presentations).
• Writing and defending thesis in front of a jury at the end of this research work.

Steering/Management :

The person recruited will be in charge of:

• Managing his/her research project by planning the various stages of the thesis topic and meeting deadlines.
• Coordinating collaborations with other researchers in the software security field and with the EVREF team's  industrial partner Berger-Levrault.
• Leading weekly follow-up meetings with supervisors.
• Contributing to the writing of deliverables and scientific papers.

Main activities :

• study of the state of the art in software attacks, static/dynamic analysis techniques and fuzzing
• analysis of existing attacks and extraction of their behavior
• definition of attack model
• design and evaluation of a tool-based approach for detecting and preventing attack (using the Pharo language (www.pharo.org))
• writing deliverables and reports

Additional activities :

• validation of the proposed approach by analyzing existing attacks and referring to attack catalogs and databases (Mitre, NVD, etc.)
• qualitative/quantitative experimentation of the developed prototype 
• dissemination of results to security communities at national (e.g. GDR days) and international level in top venues (conferences, journals, etc.)

Technical skills and level required : Object programming, static code analysis 

Languages : French, English

Relational skills :

• Ability to work as part of a team: collaboration and interaction with EVREF team members and researchers in Software Engineering working groups.
• Oral and written communication skills: present work in meetings, conferences and articles.
• Adaptability and active listening skills: incorporating feedback from supervisors and colleagues to develop research.
• Ability to communicate results to a variety of audiences.
• Exchanges with researchers from industrial partner Berger-Levrault.
   

Other valued appreciated : ability to organize thematic days on software security for the team and the host laboratory.

• Subsidized meals
• Partial reimbursement of public transport costs
• Leave: 7 weeks of annual leave + 10 extra days off due to RTT (statutory reduction in working hours) + possibility of exceptional leave (sick children, moving home, etc.)
• Possibility of teleworking and flexible organization of working hours
• Professional equipment available (videoconferencing, loan of computer equipment, etc.)
• Social, cultural and sports events and activities
• Access to vocational training
• Social security coverage

2200 € monthly gross salary from October to December 2025

2300 € monthly gross salary after January 1st 2026