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ARXIV:2604.18179 · LLM SECURITY · SUBMITTED 21 APR · 04:18 UTC · FRESHNESS STALE
ARXIV:2604.18179LLM SECURITYSUBMITTED 21 APR · 04:18 UTCFRESHNESS STALEZiyang Liu · arXiv
A protocol for detecting substitute LLMs in hosted services by committing to and auditing sparse autoencoder features of served outputs.
Opportunity summary
Pain A protocol for detecting substitute LLMs in hosted services by committing to and auditing sparse autoencoder features of served outputs.
Evidence 0 refs | 3 sources | 50% coverage
Blocker Evidence unverified
A protocol for detecting substitute LLMs in hosted services by committing to and auditing sparse autoencoder features of served outputs. Probe-after-return schemes such as SVIP leave a parallel-serve side-channel, since a dishonest provider can…
Hosted-LLM providers have a silent-substitution incentive: advertise a stronger model while serving cheaper replies. Probe-after-return schemes such as SVIP leave a parallel-serve side-channel, since a dishonest provider can route the verifier's probe to the…
ScienceToStartup currently rates this 4.0/10 on the public viability pass. Commitment adds <=2.1% to forward-only wall-clock at batch 32.
LLM Security moved forward this cycle; last verified April 2026. Public score 4.0/10.
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mobile layout uses overflow-hidden min-w-0 break-wordsOpportunity summary
Score4.0Public score shown from the verified overall while the stale axis breakdown refreshesAnalysis summary
A protocol for detecting substitute LLMs in hosted services by committing to and auditing sparse autoencoder features of served outputs.
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Paper Pack
10.48550/arXiv.2604.18179A protocol for detecting substitute LLMs in hosted services by committing to and auditing sparse autoencoder features of served outputs.
Abstract
Hosted-LLM providers have a silent-substitution incentive: advertise a stronger model while serving cheaper replies. Probe-after-return schemes such as SVIP leave a parallel-serve side-channel, since a dishonest provider can route the verifier's probe to the advertised model while serving ordinary users from a substitute. We propose a commit-open protocol that closes this gap. Before any opening request, the provider commits via a Merkle tree to a per-position sparse-autoencoder (SAE) feature-trace sketch of its served output at a published probe layer. A verifier opens random positions, scores them against a public named-circuit probe library calibrated with cross-backend noise, and decides with a fixed-threshold joint-consistency z-score rule. We instantiate the protocol on three backbones -- Qwen3-1.7B, Gemma-2-2B, and a 4.5x scale-up to Gemma-2-9B with a 131k-feature SAE. Of 17 attackers spanning same-family lifts, cross-family substitutes, and rank-<=128 adaptive LoRA, all are rejected at a shared, scale-stable threshold; the same attackers all evade a matched SVIP-style parallel-serve baseline. A white-box end-to-end attack that backpropagates through the frozen SAE encoder does not close the margin, and a feature-forgery attacker that never runs M_hon is bounded in closed form by an intrinsic-dimension argument. Commitment adds <=2.1% to forward-only wall-clock at batch 32.
Source availability
PDF linkedThe paper record includes a public PDF URL.
Extraction status
Parse run linkedA document parse run is attached to this paper.
Proof status
unverified0 refs; 3 sources; 50% coverage.
What was readable
Derived fallback: Estimated from adjacent evidence; not verified from source.
Viability
Time to MVP
Commercial
Export
Preparing verified analysis
Dimensions overall score 4.0
PROBLEM
A protocol for detecting substitute LLMs in hosted services by committing to and auditing sparse autoencoder features of served outputs. Probe-after-return schemes such as SVIP leave a parallel-serve side-channel, since a dishonest provider can route the verifier's probe to the...
METHOD
Hosted-LLM providers have a silent-substitution incentive: advertise a stronger model while serving cheaper replies. Probe-after-return schemes such as SVIP leave a parallel-serve side-channel, since a dishonest provider can route the verifier's probe to the advertised model whi...
RESULT
ScienceToStartup currently rates this 4.0/10 on the public viability pass. Commitment adds <=2.1% to forward-only wall-clock at batch 32.
WHY NOW
LLM Security moved forward this cycle; last verified April 2026. Public score 4.0/10.
{"file name": "input.pdf", "number of pages": 28, "author": "Ziyang Liu", "title": "Committed SAE-Feature Traces for Audited-Session Substitution Detection in Hosted LLMs", "creation date": null
Implication not extracted yet.
verified
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Concepts
Methods
Materials
Markets
Competitors
A protocol for detecting substitute LLMs in hosted services by committing to and auditing sparse autoencoder features of served outputs.
Segment
LLM Security
Adoption evidence
No public code link in the paper record yet
Commercial read
4.0/10 public viability
Direct
Adjacent
Substitute
Unknown
No indexed public discussion is attached to 2604.18179 yet. That is a visibility signal, not a blank module: the monitor is watching the public channels below.
Hacker News
Not indexed yet
Not indexed yet
Bluesky
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Reference metadata is not materialized in the public index yet. The source PDF remains the authority; cache refresh is optional.
CITED BY
No citing papers are indexed in the public S2S graph yet. This is an explicit zero-signal state, not a hidden lookup.
Foundation
Commercially relevant
Conflicting
Owned Distribution
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2/3 checks · 67%
Build Passport
Build passport pending - Proof Lab budget No verified cost estimate / $7.00 cap
status
missing
reason
passport_row_missing
proof status
unverified
cost/budget
No verified cost estimate
confidence low
next verification path
Build brief missing until Build Passport data exists.
Source missing: Build Passport payload.
Experiment plan missing until prototype path is available.
No prototype path attached.
Validation checklist missing until required assets, cost, and regulatory flags are verified.
No checklist artifact is attached to the Build Passport payload.
Derived signals show verified:false until source-backed receipts exist.
Evidence coverage
OpportunityKernel evidence_receipt
0 refs / 3 sources / 50% coverage
stale
Verify missing sources before using this as buyer proof. verified:false
Build readiness
BuildPassport EvidenceState
passport absent
stale
Run Proof Lab or inspect typed missing state. verified:false
Artifact maturity
GitHub and Hugging Face maturity payloads
No public artifact surface observed
stale
Open source artifacts or mark the gap as missing. verified:false
Technical feasibility
partial
Current read
Runnable path is not fully verified.
Evidence
No Build Passport payload attached.
Gaps
Next test
Run minimal reproduction from the Build Passport prototype path.
Market urgency
missing
Current read
Buyer urgency is not verified from source.
Evidence
0 references, 3 sources, 50% evidence coverage.
Gaps
Next test
Collect buyer interview, deployment evidence, or cited demand signal.
Buyer clarity
missing
Current read
No budget owner is verified for this paper.
Evidence
Build tab has no CRM, procurement, or operator source.
Gaps
Next test
Map target operator, economic buyer, and procurement trigger.
Defensibility
missing
Current read
Defensibility signals are missing.
Evidence
No defensibility receipt attached.
Gaps
Next test
Refresh defensibility bars with source receipts.
Integration burden
missing
Current read
No public implementation surface observed.
Evidence
No GitHub or Hugging Face payload attached.
Gaps
Next test
Write integration checklist from prototype path and target workflow.
Capital intensity
missing
Current read
No observed cost estimate is verified.
Evidence
Cost passport has no observed_usd value.
Gaps
Next test
Run cost passport or mark the cost field not applicable.
Regulatory load
missing
Current read
No regulatory classification is attached.
Evidence
Build Passport ledger does not include regulatory flags.
Gaps
Next test
Classify regulatory flags before commercialization planning.
No named scientific founder assigned.
Paper authors are not treated as operators without consent.
People
No named person assigned.
Gaps
Next verification path
Prototype owner missing.
Build Passport does not name an implementer.
People
No named person assigned.
Gaps
Next verification path
Operator workflow not sourced.
No buyer or workflow interview attached.
People
No named person assigned.
Gaps
Next verification path
No GTM owner verified.
No CRM or outreach source attached.
People
No named person assigned.
Gaps
Next verification path
Regulatory need unclassified.
No clinical or regulatory source attached.
People
No named person assigned.
Gaps
Next verification path
ARTIFACTS
No public artifacts yet.
DEFENSIBILITY
Defensibility and confidence evidence pending.
WATCHTOWER
No verified watchtower monitor rows yet.
FORESIGHT
No prediction yet — minted on next Foresight batch.
OPPORTUNITYKERNEL CHANGES SINCE LAST VIEW
No verified OpportunityKernel changes since the last view.
COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE UPDATES
No verified competitive landscape changes yet.
RELATED PAPER UPDATES
No verified related paper changes yet.
SIGNAL CANVAS HISTORY AND DELTAS
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TIMELINE
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Score trend will appear after multiple data points.
BUZZ
Buzz trend pending.