# When LLM Decompilers Recompile More and Preserve Less

> Decompile-Diverge builds function-level behavioral comparisons from source-derived drivers and fuzzed reference inputs. The study compares reconstructed functions on the same inputs and examines divergences and missing crashes that compilation and supplied tests can miss.

- Authors: Chang Liu; Edward Raff; Kristopher Micinski
- Venue: arXiv
- Status: Preprint
- Publication / posting date: September 4, 2026
- Date source: First arXiv submission date from the reviewed submission history; no formal publication was verified.
- First arXiv submission: September 4, 2026
- arXiv: 2609.05370
- Reviewed arXiv version: v1
- Sources reviewed: 2026-10-20
- Added to the catalog: 2026-10-20
- Original paper: <https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.05370>
- PDF: <https://arxiv.org/pdf/2609.05370v1>
- BibTeX: <https://awesomerea.org/papers/citations/paper-decompile-diverge.bib>
- Catalog page: <https://awesomerea.org/papers/paper-decompile-diverge/>
- Record JSON: <https://awesomerea.org/papers/paper-decompile-diverge/record.json>
- Chinese version: [简体中文](https://awesomerea.org/zh/papers/paper-decompile-diverge/index.md)

## Scope and limitations

The oracle requires reference source, supported inputs and buildable harnesses. It compares a finite corpus and bounded observable state; Matched does not prove all-input equivalence. Nine of 300 GitHub reference functions failed harness builds, leaving 291. Some types/functions are excluded. DeGPT-Qwen is a substituted-backend configuration, not the originally published DeGPT model.

## Why it fits this collection

Offers a concrete check on what recompilation and benchmark pass rates do not establish about recovered code.

## Publication and review notes

Latest reviewed version is arXiv v1, licensed CC BY 4.0. No author-linked code or dataset URL was verified in the reviewed paper and focused artifact search; availability and artifact licenses remain unverified. Reported measurements.

## Primary sources

1. <https://arxiv.org/abs/2609.05370v1>
2. <https://arxiv.org/html/2609.05370v1>

## About this entry

Reviewed against the paper and its primary sources. Cite the original authors using the linked paper or BibTeX.
Original editorial content: MIT. Linked projects, papers and assets retain their own rights and licenses.