Reproducing, Analyzing, and Detecting Reward Hacking in Rubric-Based Reinforcement Learning
Rubric-based reinforcement learning (RL) uses an LLM-as-a-Judge (LaaJ) to score model outputs according to rubrics as rewards. However, policy models may exploit latent biases in the judge, leading to reward hacking and ineffective or unsafe training outcomes. In real-world rubric-based RL, such hacking behaviors are often subtle and entangled with multiple judge biases, making them difficult to analyze, detect, and mitigate. In this paper, we introduce CHERRL, a Controllable Hacking Environment for Rubric-based RL. By injecting known biases into LaaJ, CHERRL enables stable reproduction of reward hacking, explicit observation of reward divergence, and identification of hacking onset. This...
| Authors | Xuekang Wang, Zhuoyuan Hao, Shuo Hou et al. |
|---|---|
| Primary category | cs.LG |
| Published | 3 June 2026 |
| Last updated at source | 29 September 2026 |
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