A Modified Word Saliency-Based Adversarial Attack on Text Classification Models
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Abstract (arXiv)
This paper introduces a novel adversarial attack method targeting text classification models, termed the Modified Word Saliency-based Adversarial At-tack (MWSAA). The technique builds upon the concept of word saliency to strategically perturb input texts, aiming to mislead classification models while preserving semantic coherence. By refining the traditional adversarial attack approach, MWSAA significantly enhances its efficacy in evading detection by classification systems. The methodology involves first identifying salient words in the input text through a saliency estimation process, which prioritizes words most influential to the model's decision-making process. Subsequently, these salient words are subjected to carefully crafted modifications, guided by semantic similarity metrics to ensure that the altered text remains coherent and retains its original meaning. Empirical evaluations conducted on diverse text classification datasets demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method in generating adversarial examples capable of successfully deceiving state-of-the-art classification models. Comparative analyses with existing adversarial attack techniques further indicate the superiority of the proposed approach in terms of both attack success rate and preservation of text coherence.
Key facts. Cited by 9 papers in the map (data through 7 Oct 2026). Builds on 17 of its 20 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 17 Mar 2024.
Builds on
17 of 20 references.
References · 17
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5 more
- 2021Bad Characters: Imperceptible NLP Attackscited by 69
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Citing papers per year: 2024: 3; 2025: 6.
9 papers.
- 2024Saliency Attention and Semantic Similarity-Driven Adversarial Perturbationcited by 4
- 2025No Query, No Accesscited by 4
- 2024Enhancing Adversarial Text Attacks on BERT Models with Projected Gradient Descentcited by 3
- 2025Tougher Text, Smarter Models: Raising the Bar for Adversarial Defence Benchmarkscited by 2
- 2025Adversarial Text Generation with Dynamic Contextual Perturbationcited by 2
- 2025Text Adversarial Attacks with Dynamic Outputscited by 2
- 2025Multi-task Adversarial Attacks against Black-box Model with Few-shot Queriescited by 1
- 2024Semantic Stealth: Adversarial Text Attacks on NLP Using Several Methodscited by 0
- 2025Every Character Counts: From Vulnerability to Defense in Phishing Detectioncited by 0
- 2025Text Adversarial Attacks with Dynamic Outputs26 Sep 2025
- 2025Every Character Counts: From Vulnerability to Defense in Phishing Detection24 Sep 2025
- 2025Multi-task Adversarial Attacks against Black-box Model with Few-shot Queries10 Aug 2025
- 2025Adversarial Text Generation with Dynamic Contextual Perturbation10 Jun 2025
- 2025No Query, No Access12 May 2025
- 2025Tougher Text, Smarter Models: Raising the Bar for Adversarial Defence Benchmarks5 Jan 2025
- 2024Enhancing Adversarial Text Attacks on BERT Models with Projected Gradient Descent29 Jul 2024
- 2024Saliency Attention and Semantic Similarity-Driven Adversarial Perturbation18 Jun 2024
- 2024Semantic Stealth: Adversarial Text Attacks on NLP Using Several Methods8 Apr 2024