An Investigation on Numerical Bugs in GPU Programs Towards Automated Bug Detection
General-purpose graphics processing unit (GPU) computing has emerged as a leading parallel computing paradigm, offering significant performance gains in various domains such as scientific computing and deep learning. However, GPU programs are susceptible to numerical bugs, which can lead to incorrect results or crashes. These bugs are difficult to detect, debug, and fix due to their dependence on specific input values or types and the absence of reliable error-checking mechanisms and oracles. Additionally, the unique programming conventions of GPUs complicate identifying the root causes of bugs, while fixing them requires domain-specific knowledge of GPU computing and numerical libraries. Therefore, understanding the characteristics of GPU numerical bugs is crucial for developing effective solutions.
In this paper, we conduct a comprehensive study of GPU programming numerical bugs (GPU-NBs) by analyzing 397 real-world bug samples from GitHub. We identify common root causes, symptoms, input patterns, test oracles that trigger these bugs and the strategies used to fix them. We also present GPU-NBDetect, a preliminary tool designed to detect numerical bugs across six distinct bug categories. GPU-NBDetect detected a total of 226 bugs across 186 mathematical functions in four libraries, with 60 confirmed by developers. Our findings lay the groundwork for developing detection and prevention techniques for GPU numerical bugs and offer insights for building more effective debugging and auto-repair tool.
Thu 26 JunDisplayed time zone: Amsterdam, Berlin, Bern, Rome, Stockholm, Vienna change
11:00 - 12:15 | Bugs and Repository MiningResearch Papers at Cosmos 3B Chair(s): Shiyi Wei University of Texas at Dallas | ||
11:00 25mTalk | LLM4SZZ: Enhancing SZZ Algorithm with Context-Enhanced Assessment on Large Language Models Research Papers Lingxiao Tang Zhejiang University, Jiakun Liu Singapore Management University, Zhongxin Liu Zhejiang University, Xiaohu Yang Zhejiang University, Lingfeng Bao Zhejiang University DOI | ||
11:25 25mTalk | Walls Have Ears: Demystifying Notification Listener Usage in Android Apps Research Papers Jiapeng Deng Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Tianming Liu Monash Univerisity, Yanjie Zhao Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Chao Wang University of Science and Technology of China, Lin Zhang The National Computer Emergency Response Team/Coordination Center of China (CNCERT/CC), Haoyu Wang Huazhong University of Science and Technology DOI | ||
11:50 25mTalk | An Investigation on Numerical Bugs in GPU Programs Towards Automated Bug Detection Research Papers Ravishka Shemal Rathnasuriya The University of Texas - Dallas, Nidhi Majoju University of Texas at Dallas, Zihe Song University of Texas at Dallas, Wei Yang UT Dallas DOI |
Cosmos 3B is the second room in the Cosmos 3 wing.
When facing the main Cosmos Hall, access to the Cosmos 3 wing is on the left, close to the stairs. The area is accessed through a large door with the number “3”, which will stay open during the event.