README.md

---
license: cc-by-4.0
language:
  - en
task_categories:
  - other
tags:
  - zero-knowledge
  - zkml
  - benchmarking
  - soundness
  - cryptography
  - auditing
  - security
configs:
  - config_name: pairs
    data_files: data/pairs.parquet
  - config_name: artifacts
    data_files: data/artifacts.parquet
size_categories:
  - n<1K
---

# zkml-audit-benchmark

A benchmark dataset for evaluating AI agents on **zkML soundness auditing**: finding cryptographic vulnerabilities in zero-knowledge machine learning proof implementations.

## Overview

This dataset pairs **4 published zkML research papers** with their corresponding **frozen codebase snapshots** and **56 bug artifacts (20 real-world from expert audits + 36 synthetic for broader coverage)**. Each artifact describes a single soundness vulnerability — the code edits to inject it, ground-truth labels for scoring, and presence probes for post-injection validation

The benchmark supports two complementary workflows:

1. **Pair extraction** — load a (paper, codebase) pair for an agent to audit.
2. **Test-case generation** — sample artifacts and apply their edit logic to the clean codebase, producing flawed codebases with known ground-truth findings.

## Documentation

- [DATASHEET.md](DATASHEET.md) — datasheet for this dataset, following Gebru et al. 2021.
- [CONTRIBUTING.md](CONTRIBUTING.md) — how to add new (paper, codebase) pairs and bug artifacts.
- [CHANGELOG.md](CHANGELOG.md) — release history and label/codebase corrections.
- [schema/artifact.v2.schema.json](schema/artifact.v2.schema.json) — authoritative JSON schema for bug artifacts.

## Positioning vs. Existing Security Benchmarks

Several mature benchmarks evaluate code-security tooling, but none target the **theory-to-implementation gap** that defines zkML soundness. The table below contrasts the design axes that matter for this setting: domain coverage, the granularity of the ground-truth labels, and whether artifacts are paired with the academic claims they implement.

| Benchmark | Domain | Artifact granularity | Theory-paired | ZKP-aware |
|-----------|--------|----------------------|:-------------:|:---------:|
| [Juliet test suite](https://samate.nist.gov/SARD/test-suites) | General C/C++/Java security | CWE-class injections | no | no |
| [OWASP Benchmark](https://owasp.org/www-project-benchmark/) | Web/Java security | OWASP-class injections | no | no |
| [NIST CAVP](https://csrc.nist.gov/projects/cryptographic-algorithm-validation-program) | Standardized crypto implementations | Test-vector validation | no | partial |
| **`zkml-audit-benchmark` (this dataset)** | **zkML soundness** | **Per-claim soundness gap** | **yes** | **yes** |

Juliet ships tens of thousands of injected vulnerabilities for general-purpose code, but its labels are generic CWE classes rather than per-paper soundness claims. The OWASP Benchmark is web-application focused, and the NIST Cryptographic Algorithm Validation Program validates implementations of *standardized* primitives, not bespoke proof-system protocols. By contrast, this benchmark ships paper–codebase pairs together with declarative artifact specifications that re-introduce a precisely characterized soundness gap, making it directly suitable for studying theory-to-practice alignment in zkML.

## Dataset Structure

### Configs

| Config | Rows | Description |
|--------|------|-------------|
| `pairs` | 4 | One row per (paper, codebase) pair |
| `artifacts` | 56 | One row per bug artifact (flattened metadata) |

### Loading

```python
from datasets import load_dataset

pairs = load_dataset("anonymous-zkml-benchmark/zkml-audit-benchmark", "pairs")
artifacts = load_dataset("anonymous-zkml-benchmark/zkml-audit-benchmark", "artifacts")
```

### Raw Files

Beyond the Parquet tables, the repository includes:

- `papers/{pair_id}.pdf` — research paper PDFs
- `codebases/{pair_id}.zip` — frozen codebase snapshots (Git LFS)
- `artifacts/{pair_id}/*.json` — full artifact JSONs with edit instructions, conflict metadata, and presence probes
- `schema/artifact.v2.schema.json` — JSON Schema defining the artifact format

The Parquet tables contain flattened metadata for filtering and loading. The full artifact JSONs (with heterogeneous edit/probe structures) are the authoritative source for test-case generation.

## Data Fields

### `pairs` config

| Field | Type | Description |
|-------|------|-------------|
| `pair_id` | string | Primary key: `zkllm`, `zkml`, `zktorch`, `zkgpt` |
| `paper_title` | string | Full paper title |
| `paper_venue` | string | Publication venue |
| `paper_year` | int32 | Publication year |
| `paper_license` | string | Paper redistribution terms |
| `paper_url` | string | arXiv or publisher URL (empty if unavailable) |
| `paper_path` | string | Relative path to PDF: `papers/{pair_id}.pdf` |
| `paper_sha256` | string | SHA256 hash of the PDF |
| `codebase_path` | string | Relative path to zip: `codebases/{pair_id}.zip` |
| `codebase_dir` | string | Directory name after extraction |
| `codebase_sha256` | string | SHA256 hash of the zip |
| `codebase_language` | string | Primary implementation language |
| `codebase_frameworks` | list\<string\> | Key cryptographic frameworks used |
| `codebase_snapshot_note` | string | Commit hash or snapshot date |
| `artifact_count` | int32 | Number of artifacts targeting this pair |
| `notes` | string | Caveats or special build instructions |

### `artifacts` config

| Field | Type | Description |
|-------|------|-------------|
| `artifact_id` | string | Primary key, e.g. `zkLLM-001` |
| `pair_id` | string | Foreign key → `pairs` |
| `source` | string | `real` (from audit) or `synthetic` (authored for coverage) |
| `finding_name` | string | Short vulnerability title (3–7 words) |
| `finding_explanation` | string | One paragraph: root cause and impact |
| `relevant_code` | string | Comma-separated `file:line[-line]` references |
| `paper_reference` | string | Section/theorem/protocol citation with optional quote |
| `edit_count` | int32 | Number of code edits to inject this bug |
| `files_touched` | list\<string\> | Files modified by this artifact's edits |
| `semantic_tags` | list\<string\> | Semantic labels for conflict detection |
| `requires` | list\<string\> | Artifact IDs this depends on |
| `incompatible` | list\<string\> | Artifact IDs incompatible with this one |
| `artifact_path` | string | Relative path to full artifact JSON |
| `artifact_sha256` | string | SHA256 hash of the artifact JSON |

## Pair Inventory

| pair_id | Paper | Venue | Language | Artifacts | Snapshot |
|---------|-------|-------|----------|-----------|----------|
| `zkllm` | zkLLM: Zero Knowledge Proofs for Large Language Models | ACM CCS 2024 | CUDA/C++ | 13 | commit `993311e…` |
| `zkml` | ZKML: An Optimizing System for ML Inference in Zero-Knowledge Proofs | EuroSys 2024 | Rust | 14 | commit `4378958…` ([ddkang/zkml](https://github.com/ddkang/zkml)) |
| `zktorch` | ZKTorch: Compiling ML Inference to Zero-Knowledge Proofs via Parallel Proof Accumulation | arXiv | Rust | 15 | directory snapshot 2026-04-19 |
| `zkgpt` | zkGPT: An Efficient Non-interactive Zero-knowledge Proof Framework for LLM Inference | USENIX Security 2025 | C++ | 14 | Zenodo record [14727819 v1](https://zenodo.org/records/14727819) |

## Artifact Summary

- **Total artifacts:** 56 (14 zkGPT + 13 zkLLM + 14 zkML + 15 zkTorch)
- **Source breakdown:** 20 real (derived from expert audit reports), 36 synthetic (authored for broader coverage)
- Each artifact includes declarative code edits, conflict metadata for safe composition, and presence probes for post-injection validation

## Reproducibility

All files are checksummed in `MANIFEST.json`. To verify integrity:

```bash
python scripts/verify_dataset.py
```

To rebuild the Parquet tables from the in-repo artifact JSONs:

```bash
python scripts/build_parquet.py
```

## Known Limitations & Assumptions

1. **Paper ↔ codebase mapping** uses fixed pair IDs (`zkllm`, `zkml`, `zktorch`, `zkgpt`) defined in `scripts/build_parquet.py`.

2. **Non-git snapshots:** The `zktorch` codebase is a directory snapshot dated 2026-04-19 and cannot be pinned to an upstream commit. `zkllm` and `zkml` are pinned to Git commits (`993311ea…` and `4378958…` respectively). `zkgpt` is pinned to Zenodo record [14727819 v1](https://zenodo.org/records/14727819).

3. **Paper licensing:** PDFs are included for research reproducibility. The dataset-level CC-BY-4.0 license covers only the curation layer (artifact definitions, schema, scripts). Papers carry their respective publisher terms (ACM, arXiv). Users redistribute at their own responsibility.

4. **Artifact format:** Artifacts follow `schema/artifact.v2.schema.json`. All graded labels live under `finding.labels`.

5. **Scope:** This release covers 4 of the 10 available research papers — specifically those with paired frozen codebases and authored artifacts. Remaining papers may be added in future releases.

## Schema Reference

The artifact JSON format is defined by `schema/artifact.v2.schema.json`. Key structures:

- `finding.labels` — the two graded fields (`relevant_code`, `paper_reference`)
- `edits` — ordered list of code edits to inject the bug
- `conflict_keys` — files, regions, and semantic tags for safe composition
- `presence_probes` — assertions to verify successful injection

## Citation

If you use this dataset, please cite:

```bibtex
@misc{zkml-audit-benchmark,
  title={zkml-audit-benchmark: A Benchmark for AI Agents on zkML Soundness Auditing},
  author={Anonymous},
  year={2026},
  url={https://huggingface.co/datasets/anonymous-zkml-benchmark/zkml-audit-benchmark},
}
```

## License

- **Dataset curation layer** (artifacts, schema, scripts, documentation): [CC-BY-4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
- **Codebases:** retain their original upstream licenses (see each codebase's LICENSE file inside the zip)
- **Papers:** subject to respective publisher terms