diff --git a/cmd/gasm/main.go b/cmd/gasm/main.go
index 18868c7..5aca56f 100644
--- a/cmd/gasm/main.go
+++ b/cmd/gasm/main.go
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@ import (
 
 // version is the release version, stamped at build time via
 // -ldflags "-X main.version=…" (defaulting to the current release).
-var version = "0.17.0"
+var version = "0.18.0"
 
 func main() {
 	if len(os.Args) < 2 {
diff --git a/justfile b/justfile
index c516c29..c3147d2 100644
--- a/justfile
+++ b/justfile
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
 
 # gasm-devkit — developer tooling for Go's Plan 9 assembler (GAsm).
 
-version := "0.17.0"
+version := "0.18.0"
 
 default:
     @just --list
diff --git a/verify/differential_test.go b/verify/differential_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..78ee77b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/verify/differential_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,295 @@
+// Copyright (c) 2026 Petr Balvín <opensource@petrbalvin.org> (https://petrbalvin.org)
+// SPDX-License-Identifier: BSD-3-Clause
+
+package verify
+
+import (
+	"bytes"
+	"math/rand"
+	"testing"
+	"unsafe"
+)
+
+// decodeBlockGo is a minimal portable LZ4 block decoder used as the
+// differential-testing oracle.  It mirrors the contract of
+// go-lz4's decodeBlockGo: (bytesWritten, code) where code is
+// 0 = ok, 1 = malformed, 2 = zero offset.
+func decodeBlockGo(src, dst []byte) (int, int) {
+	if len(src) == 0 {
+		return 0, 1
+	}
+	si, di := 0, 0
+	for {
+		if si >= len(src) {
+			return 0, 1 // truncated: no token
+		}
+		token := int(src[si])
+		si++
+
+		// Literals.
+		lLen := token >> 4
+		if lLen == 15 {
+			for {
+				if si >= len(src) {
+					return 0, 1
+				}
+				b := int(src[si])
+				si++
+				lLen += b
+				if b != 255 {
+					break
+				}
+			}
+		}
+		if si+lLen > len(src) {
+			return 0, 1 // truncated literals
+		}
+		if di+lLen > len(dst) {
+			return 0, 1 // destination overflow
+		}
+		copy(dst[di:di+lLen], src[si:si+lLen])
+		di += lLen
+		si += lLen
+
+		// End of block.
+		if si >= len(src) {
+			return di, 0
+		}
+
+		// Match offset.
+		if si+2 > len(src) {
+			return 0, 1
+		}
+		offset := int(src[si]) | int(src[si+1])<<8
+		si += 2
+		if offset == 0 {
+			return 0, 2
+		}
+
+		// Match length.
+		mLen := token & 15
+		if mLen == 15 {
+			for {
+				if si >= len(src) {
+					return 0, 1
+				}
+				b := int(src[si])
+				si++
+				mLen += b
+				if b != 255 {
+					break
+				}
+			}
+		}
+		mLen += 4
+
+		// Copy match (overlapping-safe).
+		if di-offset < 0 {
+			return 0, 1 // offset reaches before dst start
+		}
+		if di+mLen > len(dst) {
+			return 0, 1 // destination overflow
+		}
+		for i := 0; i < mLen; i++ {
+			dst[di+i] = dst[di-offset+i]
+		}
+		di += mLen
+	}
+}
+
+// genLZ4Block generates a random valid LZ4 block that decompresses into
+// approximately wantSize bytes.  The block is always well-formed (ends with
+// a literals-only sequence).
+func genLZ4Block(rng *rand.Rand, wantSize int) []byte {
+	var block []byte
+	produced := 0
+	for produced < wantSize {
+		remaining := wantSize - produced
+
+		// Decide: emit a literals+match sequence or the final literals.
+		if remaining <= 8 || rng.Intn(4) == 0 {
+			// Final literals-only sequence.
+			lLen := remaining
+			if lLen > 60 {
+				lLen = 1 + rng.Intn(60)
+			}
+			block = appendToken(block, lLen, 0)
+			for i := 0; i < lLen; i++ {
+				block = append(block, byte(rng.Intn(256)))
+			}
+			produced += lLen
+			break
+		}
+
+		// Literals + match.
+		lLen := rng.Intn(min(16, remaining))
+		if produced+lLen == 0 {
+			lLen = 1 // must have at least 1 literal before the first match
+		}
+		mLenRaw := rng.Intn(12) // match length = mLenRaw + 4
+		mLen := mLenRaw + 4
+		if produced+mLen > remaining {
+			mLen = remaining - produced
+			if mLen < 4 {
+				// Not enough room for a match; emit final literals.
+				lLen = remaining
+				block = appendToken(block, lLen, 0)
+				for i := 0; i < lLen; i++ {
+					block = append(block, byte(rng.Intn(256)))
+				}
+				break
+			}
+			mLenRaw = mLen - 4
+		}
+
+		block = appendToken(block, lLen, mLenRaw)
+		for i := 0; i < lLen; i++ {
+			block = append(block, byte(rng.Intn(256)))
+		}
+		produced += lLen
+
+		// Offset: must be <= produced (can't reference before start).
+		maxOff := produced
+		if maxOff > 65535 {
+			maxOff = 65535
+		}
+		offset := 1 + rng.Intn(maxOff)
+		block = append(block, byte(offset), byte(offset>>8))
+		produced += mLen
+	}
+	return block
+}
+
+// appendToken appends a token (and extension bytes if needed) for the given
+// literal and match lengths.
+func appendToken(block []byte, lLen, mLenRaw int) []byte {
+	lit4 := lLen
+	if lit4 > 15 {
+		lit4 = 15
+	}
+	ml4 := mLenRaw
+	if ml4 > 15 {
+		ml4 = 15
+	}
+	block = append(block, byte(lit4<<4|ml4))
+	// Literal extension bytes.
+	rem := lLen - 15
+	for rem >= 255 {
+		block = append(block, 255)
+		rem -= 255
+	}
+	if lLen >= 15 {
+		block = append(block, byte(rem))
+	}
+	// Match extension bytes.
+	rem = mLenRaw - 15
+	for rem >= 255 {
+		block = append(block, 255)
+		rem -= 255
+	}
+	if mLenRaw >= 15 {
+		block = append(block, byte(rem))
+	}
+	return block
+}
+
+func min(a, b int) int {
+	if a < b {
+		return a
+	}
+	return b
+}
+
+// TestDifferentialLZ4Fuzz drives the JIT-assembled decodeBlockAVX2 with
+// random valid LZ4 blocks and compares the output bit-for-bit against the
+// portable Go reference.
+func TestDifferentialLZ4Fuzz(t *testing.T) {
+	k := loadLZ4Kernel(t)
+
+	const iterations = 5000
+	rng := rand.New(rand.NewSource(42))
+
+	for i := 0; i < iterations; i++ {
+		wantSize := 1 + rng.Intn(4096)
+		src := genLZ4Block(rng, wantSize)
+		dstSize := wantSize + 64 // generous destination
+
+		// Go reference.
+		goDst := make([]byte, dstSize)
+		goN, goCode := decodeBlockGo(src, goDst)
+
+		// JIT kernel.
+		jitDst := make([]byte, dstSize)
+		jitN, jitCode := callDecodeBlockAVX2(t, k, src, jitDst)
+
+		if jitCode != goCode {
+			t.Fatalf("iter %d: code mismatch: JIT=%d, Go=%d (src len=%d)",
+				i, jitCode, goCode, len(src))
+		}
+		if jitCode != 0 {
+			continue // both agree it's malformed/zero-offset
+		}
+		if jitN != goN {
+			t.Fatalf("iter %d: n mismatch: JIT=%d, Go=%d (src len=%d)",
+				i, jitN, goN, len(src))
+		}
+		if !bytes.Equal(jitDst[:jitN], goDst[:goN]) {
+			t.Fatalf("iter %d: output mismatch (n=%d, src len=%d)", i, jitN, len(src))
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// TestDifferentialLZ4Hostile drives the kernel with random garbage to check
+// that error codes agree with the Go reference (no crashes, same classification).
+func TestDifferentialLZ4Hostile(t *testing.T) {
+	k := loadLZ4Kernel(t)
+
+	const iterations = 2000
+	rng := rand.New(rand.NewSource(99))
+
+	for i := 0; i < iterations; i++ {
+		srcLen := rng.Intn(128)
+		src := make([]byte, srcLen)
+		rng.Read(src)
+		dstSize := rng.Intn(512)
+		dst := make([]byte, dstSize)
+
+		// Go reference.
+		goDst := make([]byte, dstSize)
+		copy(goDst, dst)
+		_, goCode := decodeBlockGo(src, goDst)
+
+		// JIT kernel.
+		jitDst := make([]byte, dstSize)
+		copy(jitDst, dst)
+		_, jitCode := callDecodeBlockAVX2(t, k, src, jitDst)
+
+		if jitCode != goCode {
+			t.Fatalf("iter %d: hostile code mismatch: JIT=%d, Go=%d (srcLen=%d, dstSize=%d)",
+				i, jitCode, goCode, srcLen, dstSize)
+		}
+	}
+}
+
+// callDecodeBlockAVX2Raw is like callDecodeBlockAVX2 but accepts explicit
+// dst size (for hostile tests where dst may be smaller than the output).
+func callDecodeBlockAVX2Raw(t *testing.T, k *Kernel, src, dst []byte) (int, int) {
+	t.Helper()
+	args := make([]byte, 64)
+	if len(src) > 0 {
+		PutPtr(args, 0, unsafe.Pointer(&src[0]))
+	}
+	PutUint64(args, 8, uint64(len(src)))
+	PutUint64(args, 16, uint64(cap(src)))
+	if len(dst) > 0 {
+		PutPtr(args, 24, unsafe.Pointer(&dst[0]))
+	}
+	PutUint64(args, 32, uint64(len(dst)))
+	PutUint64(args, 40, uint64(cap(dst)))
+
+	out, err := k.CallFunc("decodeBlockAVX2", args)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("CallFunc(decodeBlockAVX2): %v", err)
+	}
+	return int(GetUint64(out, 48)), int(GetUint64(out, 56))
+}