A Parameterized Framework for the Formal Verification of Zero-Knowledge Virtual Machines

Abstract

Zero-knowledge virtual machines (zkVMs) enable verifiable computation on via succinct Zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs). However, current zkVMs, still in development, show many bugs. This paper introduces a parameterized framework for the formal verification of zkVMs in Coq. We prove the soundness and completeness of the constraint generation algorithm from machine instructions to semantics-level constraints. Existing works target specific zkVMs, and require repeated proof work in this phase, whereas our proofs are parameterized and can be reused in development and by all zkVMs. We also demonstrate the generality of our framework by instantiation on two examples: Cairo VM and a simplified zkEVM.