Security and Correctness Review of a Wolfram Mathematica Program Exhibiting Denial-of-Service Characteristics

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Authors: Parker Emmerson
Cited by: 0

Abstract

This paper reviews a Wolfram Mathematica (Wolfram Language) program that, whenexecuted, can generate extremely large symbolic expressions and trigger runaway computationand memory consumption. While it is not possible to conclude authorial intent from code alone,the program exhibits patterns commonly associated with denial-of-service (DoS) behavior incomputational environments: uncontrolled growth (power towers / iterated exponentiation),failure to numerically ground symbols, and unsafe scoping leading to unpredictable evaluation.We analyze why the program behaves pathologically, identify concrete technical defects, andprovide rectification principles and a corrected reference implementation with safety controls.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Security and Verification in Computing Logic programming and type systems Probability and Statistical Research

Publication details

Journal / source
PhilPapers (PhilPapers Foundation)
Publication date
2 January 2026
Language
EN