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Execution Phase for Security Audits

The execution phase is where our security experts conduct a comprehensive analysis of your codebase to identify vulnerabilities, logic flaws, and security weaknesses.

Execution Approach​

Our execution phase combines multiple complementary techniques to provide comprehensive coverage of potential security issues:

Manual Code Review​

Our manual code review process involves:

  • Line-by-line Analysis: Systematic examination of all code paths
  • Pattern Recognition: Identification of known vulnerability patterns
  • Control Flow Analysis: Tracing execution paths through the contract
  • Data Flow Analysis: Tracking how data moves through the system
  • Cross-function Analysis: Identifying unexpected interactions between different functions

Automated Analysis​

We employ a suite of specialized tools to enhance our manual review:

  • Static Analysis: Tools like Slither, Mythril, and Securify to identify common vulnerabilities
  • Formal Verification: Mathematical proof of correctness for critical components
  • Symbolic Execution: Exploring multiple execution paths simultaneously
  • Fuzzing: Generating random inputs to discover edge cases and unexpected behaviors

Economic and Game-theoretic Analysis​

For DeFi protocols, we conduct:

  • Incentive Analysis: Verifying alignment of economic incentives
  • MEV Vulnerability Assessment: Identifying potential sandwich attacks, front-running, and other MEV opportunities
  • Market Stress Testing: Simulating extreme market conditions
  • Composability Analysis: Examining interactions with other protocols

Exploit Development​

To validate critical findings, we may develop:

  • Proof-of-Concept Exploits: Demonstrating the real-world impact of vulnerabilities
  • Attack Trees: Mapping out potential attack paths and prerequisites
  • Exploit Simulations: Testing theoretical attacks in a controlled environment

Focus Areas​

During the execution phase, we focus on specific areas based on the project type:

For All Smart Contracts​

  • Access control and permission systems
  • Reentrancy vulnerabilities
  • Integer overflow/underflow (for pre-Solidity 0.8.0)
  • Proper validation of external inputs
  • Gas optimization and DoS protection
  • Upgrade mechanisms and proxy patterns

For DeFi Protocols​

  • Oracle manipulation vulnerabilities
  • Flash loan attack vectors
  • Price calculation and slippage issues
  • Liquidity pool dynamics
  • Yield farming and reward distribution mechanisms
  • MEV protection

For NFT Projects​

  • Minting logic and access control
  • Metadata security and immutability
  • Royalty enforcement mechanisms
  • Random number generation for distributions

For DAOs and Governance​

  • Voting mechanisms and security
  • Proposal submission and execution
  • Timelock implementations
  • Governance token economics

Documentation During Execution​

Throughout the execution phase, our team maintains detailed documentation:

  • Finding Logs: Recording potential issues as they're discovered
  • Evidence Collection: Documenting code snippets, execution traces, and test cases
  • Severity Assessment: Evaluating the potential impact and likelihood of each finding
  • Remediation Notes: Developing initial recommendations for fixing identified issues

The execution phase is the core of our security audit process, where our expertise and methodical approach come together to identify and understand the security posture of your project.