Partial Contracts Suffice: Sound, LLM-Inferred Regression Verification

Jul 14, 2026

A new tool for regression verification uses LLM-inferred partial contracts to verify software patches without requiring full codebase re-verification or manually written specifications. The approach achieves soundness by proving behavioral equivalence between function versions and demonstrates, on benchmarks, that partial contracts are nearly as tight as full specifications. The tool reports zero false proofs and can automatically infer contracts from counterexamples, making regression verification more practical and efficient.

Why it matters: This work offers a practical, sound method for automated regression verification, potentially reducing the effort and expertise required to ensure software correctness after updates.

Full story at: arXiv Software Engineering ↗