cs.SEApr 19, 2026

SynthFix: Adaptive Neuro-Symbolic Code Vulnerability Repair

Authors: Yifan ZhangJieyu LiKexin PeiYu HuangKevin Leach

Organizations: Vanderbilt University1 · University of Chicago2

Abstract

Large Language Models (LLMs) can generate plausible code patches, but plausibility is not enough for automated repair: a patch must compile, pass tests, and remove the target vulnerability. We present SynthFix, a neuro-symbolic repair framework that combines supervised repair learning with compiler-informed feedback. During training, a lightweight router selects between Supervised Fine-Tuning (SFT) for common repair patterns and Reward Fine-Tuning (RFT) for examples that benefit from symbolic feedback. The reward combines static structure, lint/compile checks, security scanning, and public execution tests where available; at inference time, the same evidence guides best-of-K candidate selection under a greedy floor. Across five code LLMs (1.3B-7B) on pyrepair, CodeFlaws, and SVEN, SynthFix improves deployable repair metrics over SFT-only and RFT-only baselines, with relative gains up to 54 percent in functional correctness and 14 percent in security clearance. Our code and data are available at https://github.com/CoderDoge1108/SynthFix.

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