Ca’ Foscari Software Tool Claims a Spot on the Global Podium

A project born in the lecture halls and laboratories of Ca’ Foscari has secured third place in the most important international competition in software verification.

At the SV-COMP 2026 software verification competition, LiSA technology secured third place in the Java programs track, earning a bronze medal. This achievement is especially notable as it is the tool’s first participation in the contest.

A project born from a doctoral thesis
LiSA (Library for Static Analysis) originated from the Industrial PhD thesis in Computer Science by Luca Negrini, completed in 2023 at Ca’ Foscari.

Over the years, the project has grown into a comprehensive framework for static software analysis, capable of adapting to a wide range of programming languages and technologies. Development has been carried out by the “Software and System Verification” (SSV) research group, led by Professors Agostino Cortesi and Pietro Ferrara.

In recent months, LiSA has been extended to the analysis of Java programs, thanks to a team effort involving Ca’ Foscari researchers and doctoral candidates – in addition to Negrini: Luca Olivieri, Giacomo Zanatta and Teodors Lisovenko – in collaboration with the University of Parma, in particular with Vincenzo Arceri (researcher) and Filippo Bianchi (Master’s student).

A globally recognised benchmark competition
SV-COMP was founded in 2012 by Dirk Beyer, Professor at LMU Munich, and is now regarded as the leading international event in software verification.

Each year, around one hundred technologies developed worldwide are evaluated against shared benchmark suites. The results are presented at TACAS, one of the world’s leading conferences on the subject, which in 2026 will take place in Turin.

In this highly competitive context, LiSA secured third place in the Java category and was the only technology entirely “made in Italy" to compete this year.

From research to teaching
Today, LiSA is used by the SSV team for both research activities – with an established scientific output – and teaching, particularly in courses dedicated to static analysis and software verification.

Static analysis encompasses techniques that enable the identification of errors, vulnerabilities, or properties of software directly from the source code, grounded in solid logical and mathematical foundations. These tools are essential for ensuring the reliability and security of digital systems.

The project is co-funded by Spoke 6 “Software and Platform Security” of the PNRR SERICS programme, coordinated by Ca’ Foscari, thereby confirming the Venetian university’s role as a national point of reference in cybersecurity.