Fuzzing is often described as a “black box” software testing technique. It works by automatically feeding a program multiple input iterations in an attempt to trigger an internal error indicative of a bug, and potentially crash it. Such program errors and crashes are indicative of the existence of a security vulnerability, which can later be researched and fixed.

Fuzz testing is now making a transition from a hacker-grown tool to a commercial-grade product. There are many different types of applications that can be fuzzed, many different ways they can be fuzzed, and a variety of different problems that can be uncovered. There are also problems that arise during fuzzing; when is enough enough? These issues and many others are fully explored. Fuzzing is a fast-growing field with increasing commercial interest (7 vendors unveiled fuzzing products last year). Vendors today are looking for solutions to the ever increasing threat of vulnerabilities. Fuzzing looks for these vulnerabilities automatically, before they are known, and eliminates them before release. Software developers face an increasing demand to produce secure applications---and they are looking for any information to help them do that.