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Governing Evolving Memory in LLM Agents: Risks, Mechanisms, and the Stability and Safety Governed Memory (SSGM) Framework

Authors: Chingkwun Lam, Jiaxin Li, Lingfei Zhang, Kuo Zhao

Published: 2026-03-12

arXiv ID: 2603.11768v1

Added to Library: 2026-03-13 03:00 UTC

Safety Risk & Governance

📄 Abstract

Long-term memory has emerged as a foundational component of autonomous Large Language Model (LLM) agents, enabling continuous adaptation, lifelong multimodal learning, and sophisticated reasoning. However, as memory systems transition from static retrieval databases to dynamic, agentic mechanisms, critical concerns regarding memory governance, semantic drift, and privacy vulnerabilities have surfaced. While recent surveys have focused extensively on memory retrieval efficiency, they largely overlook the emergent risks of memory corruption in highly dynamic environments. To address these emerging challenges, we propose the Stability and Safety-Governed Memory (SSGM) framework, a conceptual governance architecture. SSGM decouples memory evolution from execution by enforcing consistency verification, temporal decay modeling, and dynamic access control prior to any memory consolidation. Through formal analysis and architectural decomposition, we show how SSGM can mitigate topology-induced knowledge leakage where sensitive contexts are solidified into long-term storage, and help prevent semantic drift where knowledge degrades through iterative summarization. Ultimately, this work provides a comprehensive taxonomy of memory corruption risks and establishes a robust governance paradigm for deploying safe, persistent, and reliable agentic memory systems.

🔍 Key Points

  • Introduction of the Stability and Safety-Governed Memory (SSGM) framework that decouples memory evolution from execution, enhancing reliability in LLM agents.
  • Creation of a comprehensive taxonomy of memory corruption risks in adaptive memory systems, including semantic drift, memory poisoning, and validity failures.
  • Formalized mechanisms for preventing knowledge leakage and mitigating semantic drift through consistent verification and temporal decay modeling.
  • Proposed design principles for governing memory that advocate for pre-consolidation validation, access-scoped retrieval, and reversible reconciliation of memory states.

💡 Why This Paper Matters

This paper presents a significant step toward ensuring the stability and safety of memory systems in large language models (LLMs), providing a robust framework to address emerging risks associated with dynamic memory governance. By establishing systematic methods for validating and managing memory, the SSGM architecture helps mitigate risks of memory corruption, ultimately enabling more reliable and trustworthy AI systems that can be deployed in high-stakes environments.

🎯 Why It's Interesting for AI Security Researchers

For AI security researchers, this paper is crucial as it delves into the vulnerabilities associated with evolving memory systems in LLMs. The discussed mechanisms for managing memory risks, such as semantic drift and memory poisoning, are fundamental for developing secure AI applications. The emphasis on governance principles not only contributes to the technical resilience of LLMs but also offers insights into safeguarding against adversarial manipulations, making it a pertinent study in the field of AI security.

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