arXiv AI

REFORGE: A Method for Benchmarking LLMs' Reverse Engineering Capabilities in Decompiled Binary Function Naming

arXiv:2607. 07738v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: Large language models (LLMs) are increasingly applied to reverse-engineering tasks, and recent threat-intelligence reporting shows them operating inside live offensive-security workflows.

arXiv Machine Learning
Sep 15

Introspective Uncertainty Estimation for LLM-Based Code Generation

The thesis explores Introspective Uncertainty Estimation (IUE) for large language models (LLMs) in code generation, aiming to determine whether hidden-state representations can indicate functional correctness at both response and line levels. Using LiveCodeBench and BigCodeBench, the study finds that hidden states provide a strong signal for overall correctness, with static single-token probes performing best, while dynamic strategies offer no consistent advantage. Although line-level fault localization is more challenging, a conditional Top‑K ranking approach remains effective, suggesting a two‑stage workflow that first screens responses for risk and then prioritizes line‑level checks.

By Thomas Klassert
arXiv AI
Sep 17

Echo: Learning-based Matching Decompilation using Trusted Back Translation

Echo is a matching decompilation system that uses trusted back‑translation to guide an iterative search for source code whose recompiled assembly exactly matches a target binary. It generates candidate programs and compilation configurations with a domain‑specific model, compiles them, measures assembly similarity, and refines mismatches through rule‑based, neural, and reasoning‑based techniques. In evaluations on function‑level benchmarks and the Mirai malware binary, Echo achieves 2.43× more exact matches than the strongest baseline and outperforms GPT‑5.6 and Codex by 2.75× and 7.4× on Mirai, respectively.

By Jun Bi, Xiangxin Fang, Aarsh Chaube, Jos\'e Wesley De Souza Magalh\~aes, Rodrigo C. O. Rocha, Michael O'Boyle
arXiv AI
Aug 10

Beyond Text Matching: Towards Reference-Free Evaluation for Human-Oriented Binary Reverse Engineering

arXiv:2608. 07038v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: Human-Oriented Binary Reverse Engineering (HOBRE) aims to transform decompiled pseudocode into a more human-friendly representation, thereby reducing the cognitive burden of reverse analysis and improving efficiency.

By Xiuwei Shang, Li Hu, Xiao Jiang, Jieke Shi, Junda He, Zhou Yang, Shaoyin Cheng, Guoqiang Chen, Weiming Zhang, David Lo
arXiv AI
Aug 13

The Next Challenge for Agentic Cybersecurity: A Realistic, Contamination-Free Reverse Engineering Benchmark

arXiv:2608. 11469v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: AI agents are rapidly improving in cybersecurity capabilities when the source code is available for analysis, yet much of the software most consequential to cybersecurity, including malware, firmware, and proprietary applications, is available only as binaries.

By Jeremy Spence, Nicholas Assaderaghi, Jinhao Zhu, Nikil Ravi, Raluca Ada Popa, Guannan Wei, Yangruibo Ding, Zhuo Zhang
arXiv AI
Sep 7

When LLM Decompilers Recompile More and Preserve Less

The paper examines how large‑language‑model (LLM) decompilers, which produce clean, idiomatic C code, are currently evaluated mainly on recompilability and passing shipped tests. It shows that these metrics can mask significant behavioral differences: a decompiled function may recompile and pass all tests yet diverge on other inputs or lose disclosed vulnerabilities. To address this, the authors propose Decompile‑Diverge, a behavioral oracle that synthesizes drivers, fuzzes inputs, and compares the decompiled code’s behavior to the original, revealing divergences in up to 13% of cases and exposing gaps in current evaluation suites.

By Chang Liu, Edward Raff, Kristopher Micinski
arXiv AI
Jul 28

Compiler-Grounded Hierarchical Diagnosis for LLM-Based Triton Kernel Optimization

arXiv:2607. 23089v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Recent advances in large language models (LLMs) have enabled automated kernel generation and optimization, but most existing approaches rely on surface signals such as compilation feedback and profiling metrics.

By Dongjie Chen, Ping Zhao, Bohua Zhan, Yulong Wang, Shushu Chen, Liangjun Feng, Hao Zhou, Min Shen, Linmu Wang, Weijia Sheng, Xiangyu Wei, Weijie Ding, Jianhui Huang, Yaoqing Gao
arXiv Machine Learning
Sep 10

Robustness of LLM-Generated SystemVerilog Assertions to Semantics-Preserving RTL Transformations

The paper evaluates how robust large language models are at generating SystemVerilog Assertions (SVA) when the underlying RTL code undergoes semantics‑preserving transformations such as operand reordering, identifier renaming, and redundant parenthesization. Using a curated dataset and two open‑source models (Qwen2.5‑Coder‑7B and DeepSeek‑Coder‑V2‑Lite), the authors find that 9.7%–27.0% of behaviors that were correct on the original RTL become incorrect after transformation, revealing significant instability that aggregate accuracy metrics can hide.

By FNU Aditi
arXiv AI
Jun 16

DualGauge: Automated Joint Security-Functionality Benchmarking of Specification-Only Code Generation by LLMs and Coding Agents

arXiv:2511. 20709v2 Announce Type: replace-cross Abstract: Large language models (LLMs) and LLM-based coding agents are now used to generate code from natural-language specifications, yet ensuring such code is both functionally correct and secure remains a challenge.

By Rupam Patir, Keyan Guo, Suvadra Barua, Abhijeet Pathak, Dinesh Gudimetla, Jiawei Guo, Hongxin Hu, Haipeng Cai