# Robustness in Text-Attributed Graph Learning: Insights, Trade-offs, and New Defenses

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.17185 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.17185/

## Key facts

- Cited by 1 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 46 of its 57 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 20 Oct 2025.

## Builds on (most cited first, 30 of 46)

- [The Llama 3 Herd of Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2407.21783/) (2024)
- [RoBERTa: A Robustly Optimized BERT Pretraining Approach](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1907.11692/) (2019)
- [Semi-Supervised Classification with Graph Convolutional Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1609.02907/) (2016)
- [Graph Attention Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1710.10903/) (2017)
- [Qwen3 Technical Report](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.09388/) (2025)
- [GPT-4o System Card](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2410.21276/) (2024)
- [Open Graph Benchmark: Datasets for Machine Learning on Graphs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2005.00687/) (2020)
- [MiniLM: Deep Self-Attention Distillation for Task-Agnostic Compression of Pre-Trained Transformers](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2002.10957/) (2020)
- [Predict then Propagate: Graph Neural Networks meet Personalized PageRank](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1810.05997/) (2018)
- [Revisiting Semi-Supervised Learning with Graph Embeddings](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1603.08861/) (2016)
- [Adaptive Universal Generalized PageRank Graph Neural Network](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2006.07988/) (2020)
- [Graph Neural Networks in Recommender Systems: A Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2011.02260/) (2020)
- [Adversarial Attacks on Neural Networks for Graph Data](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1805.07984/) (2018)
- [Graph Structure Learning for Robust Graph Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2005.10203/) (2020)
- [Adversarial Attacks on Graph Neural Networks via Meta Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1902.08412/) (2019)
- [Wiki-CS: A Wikipedia-Based Benchmark for Graph Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2007.02901/) (2020)
- [GraphGPT: Graph Instruction Tuning for Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2310.13023/) (2023)
- [Graph Random Neural Network for Semi-Supervised Learning on Graphs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2005.11079/) (2020)
- [Topology Attack and Defense for Graph Neural Networks: An Optimization Perspective](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1906.04214/) (2019)
- [GNNGuard: Defending Graph Neural Networks against Adversarial Attacks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2006.08149/) (2020)
- [LLaGA: Large Language and Graph Assistant](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.08170/) (2024)
- [Robustness of Graph Neural Networks at Scale](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2110.14038/) (2021)
- [Can GNN be Good Adapter for LLMs?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.12984/) (2024)
- [Elastic Graph Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2107.06996/) (2021)
- [Graph Robustness Benchmark: Benchmarking the Adversarial Robustness of Graph Machine Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2111.04314/) (2021)
- [Are Defenses for Graph Neural Networks Robust?](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2301.13694/) (2023)
- [Reliable Representations Make A Stronger Defender: Unsupervised Structure Refinement for Robust GNN](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2207.00012/) (2022)
- [GraphEdit: Large Language Models for Graph Structure Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2402.15183/) (2024)
- [Graph Machine Learning in the Era of Large Language Models (LLMs)](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.14928/) (2024)
- [Adversarial Training for Graph Neural Networks: Pitfalls, Solutions, and New Directions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.15427/) (2023)

## Built on by (most cited first, 1 of 1)

- [ZeroGAR: Benchmarking the Adversarial Robustness of Zero-Shot Graph Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2609.33314/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

While Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) and Large Language Models (LLMs) are powerful approaches for learning on Text-Attributed Graphs (TAGs), a comprehensive understanding of their robustness remains elusive. Current evaluations are fragmented, failing to systematically investigate the distinct effects of textual and structural perturbations across diverse models and attack scenarios. To address these limitations, we introduce a unified and comprehensive framework to evaluate robustness in TAG learning. Our framework evaluates classical GNNs, robust GNNs (RGNNs), and GraphLLMs across ten datasets from four domains, under diverse text-based, structure-based, and hybrid perturbations in both poisoning and evasion scenarios. Our extensive analysis reveals multiple findings, among which three are particularly noteworthy: 1) models have inherent robustness trade-offs between text and structure, 2) the performance of GNNs and RGNNs depends heavily on the text encoder and attack type, and 3) GraphLLMs are particularly vulnerable to training data corruption. To overcome the identified trade-offs, we introduce SFT-auto, a novel framework that delivers superior and balanced robustness against both textual and structural attacks within a single model. Our work establishes a foundation for future research on TAG security and offers practical solutions for robust TAG learning in adversarial environments. Our code is available at: https://github.com/Leirunlin/TGRB.