Deadlock Verification via Ordering-Constrained Mutex Modeling

Abstract

Abstract Mutexes are fundamental synchronization primitives in concurrent programming, but their improper use can lead to deadlocks. Conventional assume-based modeling abstracts mutex semantics via assumptions, simplifying safety verification but hindering deadlock verification. Although prior efforts have aimed to address this limitation, we show that state-of-the-art methods remain inaccurate. In this paper, we propose a novel modeling approach that captures mutex semantics using ordering constraints, enabling accurate deadlock verification within partial-order-based concurrent verification frameworks. We formally prove the correctness of our method and implement it in a prototype tool, Deagle-DL . We evaluate Deagle-DL against a state-of-the-art bounded model checker ESBMC that employs the conventional modeling approach, and a state-of-the-art static analysis tool for deadlock detection. Our experiments show that Deagle-DL significantly outperforms both tools in terms of precision, while maintaining substantial efficiency.