

de Recherche et d’Innovation
en Cybersécurité et Société
Shangwe, C. N.; Davoust, A.; Khoury, R.
Beyond Detection: Evaluating LLMs’ Semantic Understanding of Code Vulnerabilities Proceedings Article
In: K., Adi; O., Nguena Timo; N., Boulahia-Cuppens; D., Espes; N., Stakhanova; M., Omar (Ed.): Lect. Notes Comput. Sci., pp. 19–34, Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH, 2026, ISBN: 03029743 (ISSN); 978-303220731-9 (ISBN), (Journal Abbreviation: Lect. Notes Comput. Sci.).
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Analysis workflow, Code Semantics, Codes (symbols), Critical questions, Development workflow, Interpretability, Language model, Large language model, Large Language Models (LLMs), Model semantics, Pattern matching, Semantics, Semantics understanding, Software design, Vulnerability detection
@inproceedings{shangweDetectionEvaluatingLLMs2026,
title = {Beyond Detection: Evaluating LLMs’ Semantic Understanding of Code Vulnerabilities},
author = {C. N. Shangwe and A. Davoust and R. Khoury},
editor = {Adi K. and Nguena Timo O. and Boulahia-Cuppens N. and Espes D. and Stakhanova N. and Omar M.},
url = {https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105046105995?origin=resultslist},
doi = {10.1007/978-3-032-20732-6_2},
isbn = {03029743 (ISSN); 978-303220731-9 (ISBN)},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-01-01},
booktitle = {Lect. Notes Comput. Sci.},
volume = {16295 LNCS},
pages = {19–34},
publisher = {Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH},
abstract = {As Large Language Models (LLMs) become increasingly integrated into software development and analysis workflows, a critical question arises: do these models truly understand the semantics of code, or do they merely excel at pattern matching? Our goal is to assess the extent to which LLMs can back their predictions in vulnerability detection by correctly attributing the identified vulnerabilities to the violation of particular rules as proof that their decision is based on actual code semantics understanding. We employed the SVEN dataset, composed of function-level code snippets, to conduct a series of experiments that evaluate both the model’s ability to detect vulnerabilities and attribute predictions to the correct violated rule and measure LLMs’ performance under varying experimental setups. Our findings reveal that while LLMs achieve reasonable accuracy in vulnerability detection, a significant drop in performance is observed when correct rule attribution is also required, exposing a gap between perceived accuracy and actual accuracy. The difference between actual and perceived accuracy offers critical insight into the depth of code semantics understanding of LLMs in vulnerability detection. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2026.},
note = {Journal Abbreviation: Lect. Notes Comput. Sci.},
keywords = {Analysis workflow, Code Semantics, Codes (symbols), Critical questions, Development workflow, Interpretability, Language model, Large language model, Large Language Models (LLMs), Model semantics, Pattern matching, Semantics, Semantics understanding, Software design, Vulnerability detection},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
Masuda, Y.; Bernard, S.; Jain, R.; Gagnon, S.; Jacobson, I.
PANEL DISCUSSION: IS LEADERSHIP EDUCATION FOR DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION: EFFECTIVENESS IN ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE AND SOFTWARE DESIGN Proceedings Article
In: Proc. AIS SIGED Int. Conf. Inf. Syst. Educ. Res., ICISER, Association for Information Systems, 2023, ISBN: 978-171389363-9 (ISBN), (Journal Abbreviation: Proc. AIS SIGED Int. Conf. Inf. Syst. Educ. Res., ICISER).
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Architecture frameworks, Digital enterprise, Digital strategies, Digital transformation, E-learning, Enterprise Architecture, IS education, IS educations, IS leadership, Leadership education, Panel discussions, Software Architecture, Software design, Start-up companies
@inproceedings{masuda_panel_2023,
title = {PANEL DISCUSSION: IS LEADERSHIP EDUCATION FOR DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION: EFFECTIVENESS IN ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE AND SOFTWARE DESIGN},
author = {Y. Masuda and S. Bernard and R. Jain and S. Gagnon and I. Jacobson},
url = {https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85192856026&partnerID=40&md5=2b46e487fdb89025b6e7bbbd9e0d9365},
isbn = {978-171389363-9 (ISBN)},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-01-01},
booktitle = {Proc. AIS SIGED Int. Conf. Inf. Syst. Educ. Res., ICISER},
publisher = {Association for Information Systems},
abstract = {The number of digital startup companies increased while many global companies has proceeded with Digital Transformation for a decade. This panel is related to the education for the practice of IS Leadership roles in Digital Transformation with a given framework of Digital Strategy and Enterprise Architecture. As members of education and collaborative research teams that have been studying and teaching the correct direction of IS leadership roles under Digital Transformation in global organizations while applying Enterprise Architecture (EA) Framework – the “Adaptive Integrated Digital Architecture Framework (AIDAF)” with Holistic EA Framework, the panelists understand that the above roles have difficulties during Digital Transformation. Thus, the panelists will discuss the theory, practice, and extent of educator’s precise guidance in the leadership roles and correct directions in Digital Transformation. This panel of senior IS educators, researchers with industry, government experience will discuss the effectiveness of “IS Leadership Education with Digital Transformation, EA and Software Design” in the new era of Digital IT. © ICISER 2023. All rights reserved.},
note = {Journal Abbreviation: Proc. AIS SIGED Int. Conf. Inf. Syst. Educ. Res., ICISER},
keywords = {Architecture frameworks, Digital enterprise, Digital strategies, Digital transformation, E-learning, Enterprise Architecture, IS education, IS educations, IS leadership, Leadership education, Panel discussions, Software Architecture, Software design, Start-up companies},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
Masuda, Y.; Bernard, S.; Jain, R.; Gagnon, S.; Jacobson, I.
PANEL DISCUSSION: IS LEADERSHIP EDUCATION FOR DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION: EFFECTIVENESS IN ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE AND SOFTWARE DESIGN Proceedings Article
In: Proc. AIS SIGED Int. Conf. Inf. Syst. Educ. Res., ICISER, Association for Information Systems, 2023, ISBN: 978-171389363-9 (ISBN), (Journal Abbreviation: Proc. AIS SIGED Int. Conf. Inf. Syst. Educ. Res., ICISER).
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Architecture frameworks, Digital enterprise, Digital strategies, Digital transformation, E-learning, Enterprise Architecture, IS education, IS educations, IS leadership, Leadership education, Panel discussions, Software Architecture, Software design, Start-up companies
@inproceedings{masudaPANELDISCUSSIONLEADERSHIP2023,
title = {PANEL DISCUSSION: IS LEADERSHIP EDUCATION FOR DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION: EFFECTIVENESS IN ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURE AND SOFTWARE DESIGN},
author = {Y. Masuda and S. Bernard and R. Jain and S. Gagnon and I. Jacobson},
url = {https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85192856026&partnerID=40&md5=2b46e487fdb89025b6e7bbbd9e0d9365},
isbn = {978-171389363-9 (ISBN)},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-01-01},
booktitle = {Proc. AIS SIGED Int. Conf. Inf. Syst. Educ. Res., ICISER},
publisher = {Association for Information Systems},
abstract = {The number of digital startup companies increased while many global companies has proceeded with Digital Transformation for a decade. This panel is related to the education for the practice of IS Leadership roles in Digital Transformation with a given framework of Digital Strategy and Enterprise Architecture. As members of education and collaborative research teams that have been studying and teaching the correct direction of IS leadership roles under Digital Transformation in global organizations while applying Enterprise Architecture (EA) Framework – the “Adaptive Integrated Digital Architecture Framework (AIDAF)” with Holistic EA Framework, the panelists understand that the above roles have difficulties during Digital Transformation. Thus, the panelists will discuss the theory, practice, and extent of educator’s precise guidance in the leadership roles and correct directions in Digital Transformation. This panel of senior IS educators, researchers with industry, government experience will discuss the effectiveness of “IS Leadership Education with Digital Transformation, EA and Software Design” in the new era of Digital IT. © ICISER 2023. All rights reserved.},
note = {Journal Abbreviation: Proc. AIS SIGED Int. Conf. Inf. Syst. Educ. Res., ICISER},
keywords = {Architecture frameworks, Digital enterprise, Digital strategies, Digital transformation, E-learning, Enterprise Architecture, IS education, IS educations, IS leadership, Leadership education, Panel discussions, Software Architecture, Software design, Start-up companies},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}



