Basis | Using LLM-based Verification to Eliminate Bugs in Linux's Network Stack

We used LLMs to verify Linux's nftables `nft` CLI utility. Along the way, we found and patched bugs that had sat in the kernel for years.

LLMs have grown alarmingly capable at finding bugs in production software. This accentuates an already severe risk: much of our critical infrastructure is mediated by software, and every bug in that software is a potential exploit. Formal verification offers the potential to mitigate this risk by producing proofs that entire classes of bugs are impossible, but it has seen limited real-world use because it demands scarce, expensive, specialist expertise. Fortunately, LLMs are increasingly capable of verification too, pointing toward a future where critical software infrastructure is secure by…

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• Davis Brown

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