Circuit-Based Program Verification Compiles C to Sequential Circuits, Solving Tasks Five Established Verifiers Cannot

arXiv 2608.07397·low signalXBlueskyLinkedInCopy link

Software and hardware verification both reason about state-transition systems but have developed separate intermediate representations and algorithms. CPV translates C programs into sequential circuits so hardware model-checking techniques — bounded model checking, k-induction, IC3/PDR — apply directly to reachability-safety and termination analysis. Evaluated on more than 16,000 verification tasks, it performed competitively against five established software verifiers while uniquely resolving tasks none of them could, making it complementary rather than a replacement. Authored by Po-Chun Chien, Nian-Ze Lee, Armin Biere, and Dirk Beyer.