🌐The web3 industry has seen several high-profile hacks and security breaches over the years. Many security breaches have occurred in the web3 industry due to LoopHoles in Smart Contract. These hacks and breaches have highlighted the importance of strong security measures and regular security Audits.
A smart contract is a self-executing contract with the terms of the agreement written directly into code. The code is stored, replicated, and executed by a blockchain network, and it's designed to automatically enforce the terms of the contract without the need for intermediaries. Smart contracts can be used for various applications, including financial transactions, supply chain management, Decentralized Autonomous Organizations, NFT, Metaverse and Gaming and voting systems.
Smart contract security refers to the measures taken to ensure that a smart contract is secure and free from vulnerabilities that could be exploited by attackers. This includes identifying and mitigating potential security risks, such as bugs, coding errors, and vulnerabilities in the smart contract's design and architecture.
Smart contract security also includes measures to ensure the smart contract functions correctly and meets its intended purpose, compliance with relevant laws, regulations, industry standards, and performance and scalability considerations.
Smart contract security is crucial because it is difficult to change or modify once a smart contract is deployed on a blockchain. Any vulnerabilities or bugs discovered after deployment could have serious consequences, such as financial loss or damage to reputation.
Conducting regular security audits for smart contract development is the way to ensure smart contract security.
Here is a list of things that the auditee must provide the audit team Before the Audit Starts
1. Audit Scope
📢The first step is to define the audit Scope clearly. Some Clients Need a Complete Repository to be Audited; Some Clients Need only a Few Contracts to Get Audited. QuillAudits Team will do the Audit for the Smart Contracts that are under the Scope of Audit Work.
While Documenting the Audit Mention:-
- Project Github/Gitlab/Bitbucket Links
- Branch Name
-Commit hash
2. Project Information
📢The auditee should have in place and be able to demonstrate to the auditor Project Information such as:
- Properly documented design and architecture of the smart contract
- Adequate documentation of the smart contract, including a clear explanation of its purpose and functionality
3. Bare Minimum Code quality checklist
Code readability and consistency: Ensure the code is properly formatted and readable. This includes consistent use of indentation, spacing, and naming conventions. A code formatter such as Prettier can be used to automatically format the code. For Reference: https://docs.soliditylang.org/en/v0.8.19/style-guide.html
Code documentation: Include comments and documentation to make the code more understandable for other developers and auditors. This includes explaining functions, events, and any other relevant code.
Code complexity: Avoid excessive complexity in the code. Use well-defined functions and keep the logic as simple as possible. Long and complex functions can be difficult to read, debug, and maintain.
Security considerations: Solidity code should be written with security in mind. Check for vulnerabilities such as reentrancy, integer overflow/underflow, and uninitialized storage pointers. Use safe math libraries and secure coding practices to avoid such vulnerabilities.
For Reference:- https://docs.soliditylang.org/en/v0.8.19/securityconsiderations.html#security-considerations
External dependencies: Review any external contracts, libraries, and interfaces used in the code for potential security risks and ensure they are properly integrated. Use trusted and well-audited libraries and contracts where possible.
Error handling: Proper error handling should be implemented to prevent unexpected behaviour and ensure the contract fails gracefully. Use require and assert statements to check for errors and provide clear error messages.
Access control: Access control should be implemented to ensure that only authorized users can execute certain functions. Use access control modifiers such as onlyOwner or onlyAuthorized.
Version control and documentation: Use version control tools such as Git to manage the code and maintain a history of changes. Include a README file with relevant information about the contract, its purpose, and usage instructions.
4. Unit Test Cases
Unit testing is a fundamental part of the development process. It is especially important for smart contracts because They are designed to automate certain processes, and it's important to ensure that they function as intended and meet the requirements specified in the design and architecture documents. Auditee should make Sure that Properly Unit testing is carried out by the development team As for the Test coverage, it is recommended that at least the following aspects should be covered:
Every function of the smart contract should be unit tested.
Every edge case and possible exception should be unit tested.
Every public function should be tested for its input validation and output.
Every state-changing function should be tested for its effect on the smart contract's state.
Every smart contract's function should be tested for its gas consumption.
It's important to note that the exact coverage will depend on the specific smart contract, but the goal should always be to have as much coverage as possible. Also, it's important to keep updating the test cases as the smart contract evolves.
5. Build and Deployment
🛫A smart contract development environment is a set of tools and technologies used to create, test, and deploy smart contracts like HardHat, Truffle, Foundry. Auditee should have Properly Documented Build and Deployment Steps.
Some Key Factors to Document:
• Steps to create a build environment from scratch on a computer fully disconnected from your internal network.
• External dependencies
•Document the build process, including debugging and the test environment
•Document the deployment process and environment, including all the specific versions of external tools and libraries for this process
6. Nice to Have
🦋Fuzz testing: Consider using fuzz testing tools such as Foundry to generate random inputs and test the contract for unexpected behavior. Fuzz testing can help identify hard-to-find bugs and edge cases.
Negative tests: Write negative tests to ensure that the contract behaves as expected in error conditions. This includes testing for invalid inputs, unexpected behavior, and security vulnerabilities.
Formal verification: Consider using formal verification tools to mathematically prove the correctness of the contract. Formal verification can help ensure that the contract behaves as intended under all possible conditions.
Security assumptions: Write down your security assumptions and share them with auditors. This helps identify potential security risks and ensure that the contract behaves as expected under all possible conditions.
List of concerns: Make a list of areas where you'd like auditors to spend more time or where you're unsure about something in your own code. This can help focus the audit on areas of concern and ensure that all potential issues are identified and addressed.
A prerequisite for a smart contract audit is ensuring you have all the above points to present to the audit team.
By providing all necessary project information, we can perform a thorough audit.
If you have any questions about the above Audit readiness, please feel free to contact us directly:-
🤝Telegram: https://t.me/OxQuillA
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QuillAudits’ Impact
QuillAudits has audited over a million lines of code across 1000+ projects, securing over $30B AUM. We supercharge web3 security with our product suite, consisting of AI-driven audit, token risk assessment, and monitoring tools. Supporting 15+ blockchains, our team prioritizes holistic evaluation and excellence in safeguarding digital assets.
Audit Process
Our process is thorough and constantly updated to address the latest vulnerabilities. We employ a combination of manual line-by-line review and automated testing to identify any issues within the code.
BD Team Contact
Name: Partho
Telegram: https://t.me/Partho_RoyC
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