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https://dx.doi.org/10.48550/ar...
Article . 2024
License: CC BY
Data sources: Datacite
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Article . 2025
Data sources: DBLP
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Preprint . 2024
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Prompting Techniques for Secure Code Generation: A Systematic Investigation

Authors: Catherine Tony; Nicolás E. Díaz Ferreyra; Markus Mutas; Salem Dhif; Riccardo Scandariato;

Prompting Techniques for Secure Code Generation: A Systematic Investigation

Abstract

Large Language Models (LLMs) are gaining momentum in software development with prompt-driven programming enabling developers to create code from Natural Language (NL) instructions. However, studies have questioned their ability to produce secure code and, thereby, the quality of prompt-generated software. Alongside, various prompting techniques that carefully tailor prompts have emerged to elicit optimal responses from LLMs. Still, the interplay between such prompting strategies and secure code generation remains under-explored and calls for further investigations. Objective : In this study, we investigate the impact of different prompting techniques on the security of code generated from NL instructions by LLMs. Method : First, we perform a systematic literature review to identify the existing prompting techniques that can be used for code generation tasks. A subset of these techniques are evaluated on GPT-3, GPT-3.5, and GPT-4 models for secure code generation. For this, we used an existing dataset consisting of 150 NL security-relevant code generation prompts. Results : Our work (i) classifies potential prompting techniques for code generation (ii) adapts and evaluates a subset of the identified techniques for secure code generation tasks, and (iii) observes a reduction in security weaknesses across the tested LLMs, especially after using an existing technique called Recursive Criticism and Improvement (RCI), contributing valuable insights to the ongoing discourse on LLM-generated code security.

Country
Germany
Related Organizations
Keywords

Software Engineering (cs.SE), FOS: Computer and information sciences, Computer Science - Software Engineering, Computer Science - Machine Learning, prompt engineering, Computer Science - Cryptography and Security, Artificial Intelligence (cs.AI), Computer Science - Artificial Intelligence, LLMs, Cryptography and Security (cs.CR), secure code generation, Machine Learning (cs.LG)

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    popularity
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    influence
    This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
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    This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
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selected citations
These citations are derived from selected sources.
This is an alternative to the "Influence" indicator, which also reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Citations provided by BIP!
popularity
This indicator reflects the "current" impact/attention (the "hype") of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Popularity provided by BIP!
influence
This indicator reflects the overall/total impact of an article in the research community at large, based on the underlying citation network (diachronically).
BIP!Influence provided by BIP!
impulse
This indicator reflects the initial momentum of an article directly after its publication, based on the underlying citation network.
BIP!Impulse provided by BIP!
13
Top 10%
Top 10%
Top 10%
Green