LLM-Generated Invariants for Bounded Model Checking Without Loop Unrolling

We investigate a modification of the classical Bounded Model Checking (BMC) procedure that does not handle loops through unrolling but via modifications to the control flow graph (CFG). A portion of the CFG representing a loop is replaced by a node asserting invariants of the loop. We generate these...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:IEEE/ACM International Conference on Automated Software Engineering : [proceedings] pp. 1395 - 1407
Main Authors: Pirzada, Muhammad A. A., Bhayat, Ahmed, Cordeiro, Lucas C., Reger, Giles
Format: Conference Proceeding
Language:English
Published: ACM 27.10.2024
Subjects:
Benchmark testing
Bounded Model Checking
Closed box
Flow graphs
Glass box
Invariant Generation
Large language models
Model checking
Program Verification
Software engineering
Transforms
ISSN:2643-1572
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:We investigate a modification of the classical Bounded Model Checking (BMC) procedure that does not handle loops through unrolling but via modifications to the control flow graph (CFG). A portion of the CFG representing a loop is replaced by a node asserting invariants of the loop. We generate these invariants using Large Language Models (LLMs) and use a first-order theorem prover to ensure the correctness of the generated statements. We thus transform programs to loop-free variants in a sound manner. Our experimental results show that the resulting tool, ESBMC ibmc, is competitive with state-of-the-art formal verifiers for programs with unbounded loops, significantly improving the number of programs verified by the industrial-strength software verifier ESBMC and verifying programs that state-of-the-art software verifiers such as SeaHorn and VeriAbs could not.
ISSN:2643-1572
DOI:10.1145/3691620.3695512