## 1 Introduction  
Permanfrost refers to various rocks and soils containing ice below 0 \({}^{\circ}\)C [1]. Frozen soil is very sensitive to temperature. Due to the rich underground ice, frozen soil is rheological, and its long-term strength is much lower than its instantaneous strength [2]. Because of these characteristics, there are two major dangers when constructing slopes in permafrost regions, namely frost heave and thawing [3]. Slope instability in permafrost regions is closely related to the freeze-thaw cycle. The decrease in the shear strength of the slope after freezing and thawing is the main reason for the failure of the slope [4, 5]. The effect of freezing water retention can reduce the stability of loess slopes in seasonal frozen soil areas by about 25% [6]. [PERSON] et al. [7] found that after freeze-thaw and dry-wet cycles, the safety of the slope decreased, especially in the early stage. The safety factor shows a negative correlation with the slope angle [8]. Through experiments, [PERSON] et al. [9] observed that the safety factor of silty soil embankment slopes under freeze-thaw conditions was greatly reduced, with a maximum decrease of about 49%. [PERSON] et al. [10] found that as the number of freeze-thaw cycles increased, the safety factor of loess slopes showed an exponential decay trend. After studying the silty clay cutting slope of the Tongsan Expressway, [PERSON] and [PERSON] et al. [11; 12] found that the cohesion in the slope decreased with the freeze-thaw cycles, and the cracks caused by cold shrinkage caused the water content of the shallow slope to be too high after the accumulation of water in the spring melting period, destroying the overall strength of the slope and causing landslides. Similarly, the K177+550 section of the Bei'an-Heihe Expressway also experienced landslides [13]. [PERSON] et al. [14] conducted seven years of monitoring near the lower limit of the permafrost regions in the Swiss Alps, finding that pebbles or smaller fragments were generated within the rock after the day-night freeze-thaw process, and shallow thawing creep (<10 cm) appeared on the debris slope. Moreover, after seasonal freezing and thawing, more debris, deeper freezing creep (<50 cm), thawing mud flow, and rock joints were produced. In addition, the long-melting snow water also accelerated the creep of the slope, thereby reducing the stability of the slope. Therefore, in reducing the stability of slopes in cold regions, the role of freezing and thawing cannot be underestimated.  
However, the stability analysis of the slopes in the high-latitude and low-altitude permafrost areas of the Greater Xing'an Mountains under freeze-thaw conditions has not been reported. In this paper, we selected a cutting slope of the K105+700-800 section of National Highway 332 as our research object and conducted indoor freeze-thaw tests and an ABAQUS numerical simulation, concluding that the compressive strength of the slope specimens gradually became lower due to the increase in the number of freeze-thaw cycles, and the slope safety gradually decreased under the influence of coupled heat, moisture, and stress. The results of this study can provide a reference for the stability analysis of slopes in permafrost regions at high latitudes and low altitudes.