A First Look at Bugs in LLM Inference Engines

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Liu, Mugeng, Zhong, Siqi, Bi, Weichen, Zhang, Yixuan, Chen, Zhiyang, Chen, Zhenpeng, Liu, Xuanzhe, Ma, Yun
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Liu, Mugeng
Zhong, Siqi
Bi, Weichen
Zhang, Yixuan
Chen, Zhiyang
Chen, Zhenpeng
Liu, Xuanzhe
Ma, Yun
author_facet Liu, Mugeng
Zhong, Siqi
Bi, Weichen
Zhang, Yixuan
Chen, Zhiyang
Chen, Zhenpeng
Liu, Xuanzhe
Ma, Yun
contents Large language model-specific inference engines (in short as \emph{LLM inference engines}) have become a fundamental component of modern AI infrastructure, enabling the deployment of LLM-powered applications (LLM apps) across cloud and local devices. Despite their critical role, LLM inference engines are prone to bugs due to the immense resource demands of LLMs and the complexities of cross-platform compatibility. However, a systematic understanding of these bugs remains lacking. To bridge this gap, we present the first empirical study on bugs in LLM inference engines. We mine official repositories of 5 widely adopted LLM inference engines, constructing a comprehensive dataset of 929 real-world bugs. Through a rigorous open coding process, we analyze these bugs to uncover their symptoms, root causes, commonality, fix effort, fix strategies, and temporal evolution. Our findings reveal six bug symptom types and a taxonomy of 28 root causes, shedding light on the key challenges in bug detection and location within LLM inference engines. Based on these insights, we propose a series of actionable implications for researchers, inference engine vendors, and LLM app developers, along with general guidelines for developing LLM inference engines.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2506_09713
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A First Look at Bugs in LLM Inference Engines
Liu, Mugeng
Zhong, Siqi
Bi, Weichen
Zhang, Yixuan
Chen, Zhiyang
Chen, Zhenpeng
Liu, Xuanzhe
Ma, Yun
Software Engineering
Large language model-specific inference engines (in short as \emph{LLM inference engines}) have become a fundamental component of modern AI infrastructure, enabling the deployment of LLM-powered applications (LLM apps) across cloud and local devices. Despite their critical role, LLM inference engines are prone to bugs due to the immense resource demands of LLMs and the complexities of cross-platform compatibility. However, a systematic understanding of these bugs remains lacking. To bridge this gap, we present the first empirical study on bugs in LLM inference engines. We mine official repositories of 5 widely adopted LLM inference engines, constructing a comprehensive dataset of 929 real-world bugs. Through a rigorous open coding process, we analyze these bugs to uncover their symptoms, root causes, commonality, fix effort, fix strategies, and temporal evolution. Our findings reveal six bug symptom types and a taxonomy of 28 root causes, shedding light on the key challenges in bug detection and location within LLM inference engines. Based on these insights, we propose a series of actionable implications for researchers, inference engine vendors, and LLM app developers, along with general guidelines for developing LLM inference engines.
title A First Look at Bugs in LLM Inference Engines
topic Software Engineering
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.09713