Detecting Ladder Logic Bombs in IEC 61131-3 PLC Programs using ESBMC-PLC+: A Formal Verification Approach with Trigger Synthesis
A Ladder Logic Bomb (LLB) is malicious control logic in a Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) program that lies dormant until a trigger activates a payload to manipulate actuators, forge sensor readings, or deny operator control. We observe that real malicious logic hides inside function-block bodies, which existing ladder-diagram verifiers drop from their intermediate representation (IR), making bombs invisible to provers. We present ESBMC-LLB, which uses ESBMC-PLC+ as its verification engine and adds a modeling layer that exposes function-block logic and recasts bomb detection as a formal verification problem: a scan-watchdog exposes non-termination payloads, and output wiring exposes a...
| Authors | Pierre Dantas, Lucas Cordeiro, Waldir Junior |
|---|---|
| Primary category | cs.CL |
| Published | 9 July 2026 |
| Last updated at source | 9 July 2026 |
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