Smart Contract Security
Comprehensive security practices and common vulnerabilities in smart contracts. Protect your protocols with battle-tested security measures and audit techniques.
Critical Security Principles
Smart contract security is paramount in DeFi and Web3 applications. A single vulnerability can lead to millions in losses. Follow these fundamental principles.
Common Vulnerabilities & Attacks
Reentrancy Attacks
Malicious contracts calling back into your contract before state updates complete.
Prevention:
- • Use checks-effects-interactions pattern
- • Implement reentrancy guards
- • Update state before external calls
Integer Overflow/Underflow
Arithmetic operations that exceed variable limits causing unexpected behavior.
Prevention:
- • Use SafeMath libraries
- • Solidity 0.8+ built-in checks
- • Validate input ranges
Access Control Issues
Improper permission management allowing unauthorized access to critical functions.
Prevention:
- • Use OpenZeppelin AccessControl
- • Implement role-based permissions
- • Regular permission audits
Oracle Manipulation
Attacks on price feeds and external data sources to manipulate contract behavior.
Prevention:
- • Use multiple oracle sources
- • Implement price deviation checks
- • Time-weighted average prices
Security Tools & Analysis
Leverage automated tools and manual review processes to identify vulnerabilities before deployment. Combine multiple approaches for comprehensive security coverage.
Static Analysis
- • Slither analyzer
- • MythX security platform
- • Securify scanner
- • Solhint linter
Dynamic Testing
- • Echidna fuzzing
- • Manticore symbolic execution
- • Foundry property testing
- • Custom test suites
Manual Review
- • Code review checklists
- • Architecture analysis
- • Business logic validation
- • Professional audits
Development Best Practices
Follow these proven development practices to build secure smart contracts from the ground up. Security should be considered at every stage of development.
Secure Development Lifecycle:
Design Phase:
- • Threat modeling
- • Security requirements
- • Risk assessment
- • Architecture review
Implementation:
- • Secure coding standards
- • Code review process
- • Automated testing
- • Continuous integration
Testing Phase:
- • Unit test coverage
- • Integration testing
- • Security testing
- • Penetration testing
Deployment:
- • Testnet validation
- • Gradual rollout
- • Monitoring setup
- • Incident response plan
Security Audit Checklist
Use this comprehensive checklist to evaluate smart contract security before deployment. Each item should be thoroughly reviewed and tested.