Deep Learning Aided Software Vulnerability Detection: A Survey

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Uddin, Md Nizam, Zhang, Yihe, Hei, Xiali
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Uddin, Md Nizam
Zhang, Yihe
Hei, Xiali
author_facet Uddin, Md Nizam
Zhang, Yihe
Hei, Xiali
contents The pervasive nature of software vulnerabilities has emerged as a primary factor for the surge in cyberattacks. Traditional vulnerability detection methods, including rule-based, signature-based, manual review, static, and dynamic analysis, often exhibit limitations when encountering increasingly complex systems and a fast-evolving attack landscape. Deep learning (DL) methods excel at automatically learning and identifying complex patterns in code, enabling more effective detection of emerging vulnerabilities. This survey analyzes 34 relevant studies from high-impact journals and conferences between 2017 and 2024. This survey introduces the conceptual framework Vulnerability Detection Lifecycle for the first time to systematically analyze and compare various DL-based vulnerability detection methods and unify them into the same analysis perspective. The framework includes six phases: (1) Dataset Construction, (2) Vulnerability Granularity Definition, (3) Code Representation, (4) Model Design, (5) Model Performance Evaluation, and (6) Real-world Project Implementation. For each phase of the framework, we identify and explore key issues through in-depth analysis of existing research while also highlighting challenges that remain inadequately addressed. This survey provides guidelines for future software vulnerability detection, facilitating further implementation of deep learning techniques applications in this field.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2503_04002
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Deep Learning Aided Software Vulnerability Detection: A Survey
Uddin, Md Nizam
Zhang, Yihe
Hei, Xiali
Software Engineering
Cryptography and Security
The pervasive nature of software vulnerabilities has emerged as a primary factor for the surge in cyberattacks. Traditional vulnerability detection methods, including rule-based, signature-based, manual review, static, and dynamic analysis, often exhibit limitations when encountering increasingly complex systems and a fast-evolving attack landscape. Deep learning (DL) methods excel at automatically learning and identifying complex patterns in code, enabling more effective detection of emerging vulnerabilities. This survey analyzes 34 relevant studies from high-impact journals and conferences between 2017 and 2024. This survey introduces the conceptual framework Vulnerability Detection Lifecycle for the first time to systematically analyze and compare various DL-based vulnerability detection methods and unify them into the same analysis perspective. The framework includes six phases: (1) Dataset Construction, (2) Vulnerability Granularity Definition, (3) Code Representation, (4) Model Design, (5) Model Performance Evaluation, and (6) Real-world Project Implementation. For each phase of the framework, we identify and explore key issues through in-depth analysis of existing research while also highlighting challenges that remain inadequately addressed. This survey provides guidelines for future software vulnerability detection, facilitating further implementation of deep learning techniques applications in this field.
title Deep Learning Aided Software Vulnerability Detection: A Survey
topic Software Engineering
Cryptography and Security
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2503.04002