# Shapes are not enough: CONSERVAttack and its use for finding vulnerabilities and uncertainties in machine learning applications

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.13970 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2603.13970/

## Key facts

- Cited by 1 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 13 of its 27 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 14 Mar 2026.

## Builds on (most cited first, 13 of 13)

- [Explaining and Harnessing Adversarial Examples](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1412.6572/) (2014)
- [Towards Deep Learning Models Resistant to Adversarial Attacks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1706.06083/) (2017)
- [A Survey of Large Language Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.18223/) (2023)
- [Practical Black-Box Attacks against Machine Learning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1602.02697/) (2016)
- [Robustness May Be at Odds with Accuracy](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1805.12152/) (2018)
- [On Detecting Adversarial Perturbations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1702.04267/) (2017)
- [Advances in adversarial attacks and defenses in computer vision: A survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2108.00401/) (2021)
- [Recent Advancements in End-to-End Autonomous Driving using Deep Learning: A Survey](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.04370/) (2023)
- [Distributionally Robust Optimization: A Review](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1908.05659/) (2019)
- [How Deep Learning Sees the World: A Survey on Adversarial Attacks & Defenses](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2305.10862/) (2023)
- [Adversarial Attacks for Tabular Data: Application to Fraud Detection and Imbalanced Data](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2101.08030/) (2021)
- [Enforcing Fundamental Relations via Adversarial Attacks on Input Parameter Correlations](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2501.05588/) (2025)
- [MiniFool -- Physics-Constraint-Aware Minimizer-Based Adversarial Attacks in Deep Neural Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2511.01352/) (2025)

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

- [Uncovering Hidden Systematics in Neural Network Models for High Energy Physics](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2605.07470/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

In High Energy Physics, as in many other fields of science, the application of machine learning techniques has been crucial in advancing our understanding of fundamental phenomena. Increasingly, deep learning models are applied to analyze both simulated and experimental data. In most experiments, a rigorous regime of testing for physically motivated systematic uncertainties is in place. The numerical evaluation of these tests for differences between the data on the one side and simulations on the other side quantifies the effect of potential sources of mismodelling on the machine learning output. In addition, thorough comparisons of marginal distributions and (linear) feature correlations between data and simulation in "control regions" are applied. However, the guidance by physical motivation, and the need to constrain comparisons to specific regions, does not guarantee that all possible sources of deviations have been accounted for. We therefore propose a new adversarial attack - the CONSERVAttack - designed to exploit the remaining space of hypothetical deviations between simulation and data after the above mentioned tests. The resulting adversarial perturbations are consistent within the uncertainty bounds - evading standard validation checks - while successfully fooling the underlying model. We further propose strategies to mitigate such vulnerabilities and argue that robustness to adversarial effects must be considered when interpreting results from deep learning in particle physics.