LLM4C2Rust: Large Language Models for Automated Memory-Safe Code Transpilation
Fuente:
arXiv
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2026
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1866917415698300928 |
|---|---|
| author | Bedell, Sarah Siavash, Nazanin Moin, Armin |
| author_facet | Bedell, Sarah Siavash, Nazanin Moin, Armin |
| contents | Memory safety has long been a critical challenge in software engineering, particularly for legacy systems written in memory-unsafe languages such as C and C++. Rust, one of the youngest modern programming languages, offers built-in memory-safety guarantees that make it a strong candidate for secure systems development. Consequently, transpiling C/C++ code into memory-safe Rust code has become a growing area of research. However, manual transpilation is often time-consuming and error-prone. Additionally, rule-based automated approaches are not as flexible or cost-effective as methods enabled by state-of-the-art AI models, techniques, and methods, such as those that deploy Large Language Models (LLMs), for example, Generative Pretrained Transformers (GPT). In this paper, we propose a Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)-assisted framework that integrates an LLM with a Small Language Model (SLM) to perform C/C++-to-Rust transpilation with a focus on enhancing memory safety. The framework deploys a segmentation strategy that processes C/C++ code in balanced blocks, guiding the LLM with retrieved context from Rust documentation and compiler error references. Our experiments using three OpenAI models (GPT-4o, GPT-4-Turbo, and o3-Mini) demonstrate that the RAG-enhanced pipeline generally improves both code correctness and security for C-to-Rust code transpilation. Several Coreutils programs achieve complete elimination of Raw Pointer Dereferences (RPDs) and Unsafe Type Casts (UTCs) in the final Rust output, indicating the potential of LLM-based transpilation for advancing automated software modernization and repair, as well as memory-safe code generation. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_15485 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | LLM4C2Rust: Large Language Models for Automated Memory-Safe Code Transpilation Bedell, Sarah Siavash, Nazanin Moin, Armin Software Engineering Memory safety has long been a critical challenge in software engineering, particularly for legacy systems written in memory-unsafe languages such as C and C++. Rust, one of the youngest modern programming languages, offers built-in memory-safety guarantees that make it a strong candidate for secure systems development. Consequently, transpiling C/C++ code into memory-safe Rust code has become a growing area of research. However, manual transpilation is often time-consuming and error-prone. Additionally, rule-based automated approaches are not as flexible or cost-effective as methods enabled by state-of-the-art AI models, techniques, and methods, such as those that deploy Large Language Models (LLMs), for example, Generative Pretrained Transformers (GPT). In this paper, we propose a Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG)-assisted framework that integrates an LLM with a Small Language Model (SLM) to perform C/C++-to-Rust transpilation with a focus on enhancing memory safety. The framework deploys a segmentation strategy that processes C/C++ code in balanced blocks, guiding the LLM with retrieved context from Rust documentation and compiler error references. Our experiments using three OpenAI models (GPT-4o, GPT-4-Turbo, and o3-Mini) demonstrate that the RAG-enhanced pipeline generally improves both code correctness and security for C-to-Rust code transpilation. Several Coreutils programs achieve complete elimination of Raw Pointer Dereferences (RPDs) and Unsafe Type Casts (UTCs) in the final Rust output, indicating the potential of LLM-based transpilation for advancing automated software modernization and repair, as well as memory-safe code generation. |
| title | LLM4C2Rust: Large Language Models for Automated Memory-Safe Code Transpilation |
| topic | Software Engineering |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.15485 |