Incorrect compiler optimizations can lead to unintended program behavior and security vulnerabilities. However, the enormous size and complexity of modern compilers make it challenging to ensure the correctness of optimizations. The problem becomes more severe as compiler engineers continuously add new optimizations to improve performance and support new language features. In this paper, we propose Optimuzz , a framework to effectively detect incorrect optimization bugs in such continuously changing compilers. The key idea is to combine two complementary techniques: directed grey-box fuzzing and translation validation. We design a novel optimization-directed fuzzing framework that efficiently generates input programs to trigger specific compiler optimizations. Optimuzz then uses existing translation validation tools to verify the correctness of the optimizations on the input programs. We instantiate our approach for two major compilers, LLVM and TurboFan . The results show that Optimuzz can effectively detect miscompilation bugs in these compilers, outperforming state-of-the-art tools. We also applied Optimuzz to the latest version of LLVM and discovered 55 new miscompilation bugs.

@article{paperbot3099,
  title = {Optimization-Directed Compiler Fuzzing for Continuous Translation Validation},
  author = {Jaeseong Kwon and Bongjun Jang and Juneyoung Lee and Kihong Heo},
  journal = {Proceedings of the ACM on Programming Languages},
  volume = {9},
  number = {PLDI},
  year = {2025},
  doi = {10.1145/3729275}
}