arXiv subjects

JianFeng Ma

Publications and source records attributed to JianFeng Ma.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

A Cross-Modal Prompt Injection Attack against Large Vision-Language Models with Image-Only Perturbation

Large vision-language models (LVLMs) have emerged as a powerful paradigm for multimodal intelligence, but their growing deployment also expands the attack surface of prompt injection. Despite this growing concern, existing attacks still suffer from a critical limitation: the injected prompt for one modality only steers the model's interpretation of that singular input. Alternatively, these attacks remain multimodal but fail to achieve cross-modal prompt perturbation. To bridge this gap, we introduce a novel cross-modal prompt injection attack CrossMPI, which can steer the model's interpretation of both textual and visual inputs via image-only prompt injection. Our design is underpinned by the following key breakthroughs. First, we turn the focus of the injected prompt perturbation optimization from the visual embedding space (typically with only $10^5$ parameters) to the model hidden state space (for multimodal information integration and with $10^7$ parameters). Then, two strategies are adopted to mitigate the optimization challenges posed by the larger parameter space. To constrain the optimized model parameter space, we introduce a layer selection strategy that identifies the layers most critical to multimodal integration. Interestingly, deviating from the past experience, our analysis reveals that the optimal layers for LVLM prompt perturbation reside in the middle of the model rather than the last. To constrain the image perturbation space, we propose a new distance-decremental perturbation budget assignment strategy that allocates budgets decrementally as the pixel distance to semantic-critical regions increases. Extensive experiments across multiple LVLMs and datasets show that our method significantly outperforms baseline approaches.

cs.CR↗

arXiv2026

Beyond Basic Specifications? A Systematic Study of Logical Constructs in LLM-based Specification Generation

Formal specifications play a pivotal role in accurately characterizing program behaviors and ensuring software correctness. In recent years, leveraging large language models (LLMs) for the automatic generation of program specifications has emerged as a promising avenue for enhancing verification efficiency. However, existing research has been predominantly confined to generating specifications based on basic syntactic constructs, falling short of meeting the demands for high-level abstraction in complex program verification. Consequently, we propose incorporating logical constructs into existing LLM-based specification generation framework. Nevertheless, there remains a lack of systematic investigation into whether LLMs can effectively generate such complex constructs. To this end, we conduct an empirical study aimed at exploring the impact of various types of syntactic constructs on specification generation framework. Specifically, we define four syntactic configurations with varying levels of abstraction and perform extensive evaluations on mainstream program verification datasets, employing a diverse set of representative LLMs. Experimental results first confirm that LLMs are capable of generating valid logical constructs. Further analysis reveals that the synergistic use of logical constructs and basic syntactic constructs leads to improvements in both verification capability and robustness, without significantly increasing verification overhead. Additionally, we uncover the distinct advantages of two refinement paradigms. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first systematic work exploring the feasibility of utilizing LLMs for generating high-level logical constructs, providing an empirical basis and guidance for the future construction of automated program verification framework with enhanced abstraction capabilities.

cs.SE↗

arXiv2025

Enhancing LLM-based Specification Generation via Program Slicing and Logical Deletion

Traditional formal specification generation methods are typically tailored to specific specification types, and therefore suffer from limited generality. In recent years, large language model (LLM)-based specification generation approaches have emerged, offering a new direction for improving the universality of automated specification synthesis. However, when dealing with complex control flow, LLMs often struggle to precisely generate complete specifications that cover substructures. Moreover, the distinctive verification pipelines adopted by existing approaches may incorrectly discard logically correct specifications, while verification tools alone cannot reliably identify correct specifications. To address these issues, we propose SLD-Spec, an LLM-based specification generation method that combines program slicing and logical deletion. Specifically, SLD-Spec augments the conventional specification generation framework with two key stages: (1) a program slicing stage that decomposes the target function into several smaller code slices, enabling LLMs to focus on more localized semantic structures and thereby improving specification relevance and completeness; and (2) a logical deletion stage that leverages LLMs to perform logical reasoning and filtering over candidate specifications so as to retain logically correct ones. Experimental results show that SLD-Spec consistently outperforms existing methods on datasets containing programs of varying complexity, verifying more programs and generating specifications that are more relevant and more complete. Further ablation studies indicate that program slicing mainly improves specification relevance and completeness, whereas logical deletion plays a key role in increasing verification success rates.

cs.SE↗

arXiv2024

Slot: Provenance-Driven APT Detection through Graph Reinforcement Learning

Advanced Persistent Threats (APTs) represent sophisticated cyberattacks characterized by their ability to remain undetected within the victim system for extended periods, aiming to exfiltrate sensitive data or disrupt operations. Existing detection approaches often struggle to effectively identify these complex threats, construct the attack chain for defense facilitation, or resist adversarial attacks. To overcome these challenges, we propose Slot, an advanced APT detection approach based on provenance graphs and graph reinforcement learning. Slot excels in uncovering multi-level hidden relationships, such as causal, contextual, and indirect connections, among system behaviors through provenance graph mining. By pioneering the integration of graph reinforcement learning, Slot dynamically adapts to new user activities and evolving attack strategies, enhancing its resilience against adversarial attacks. Additionally, Slot automatically constructs the attack chain according to detected attacks with clustering algorithms, providing precise identification of attack paths and facilitating the development of defense strategies. Evaluations with real-world datasets demonstrate Slot's outstanding accuracy, efficiency, adaptability, and robustness in APT detection, with most metrics surpassing state-of-the-art methods. Additionally, case studies conducted to assess Slot's effectiveness in supporting APT defense further establish it as a practical and reliable tool for cybersecurity protection.

cs.CR↗