Best Smart Contract Audit Tools

Today, smart contracts are an integral part of blockchain technologies. They serve all components of different industries, including finance, supply chains, etc. Therefore, the security of a blockchain project is one of the key issues when it comes to success.

In particular, an essential component of blockchain security checks is the audit of smart contracts. The audit allows you to identify and eliminate all potential vulnerabilities and gaps in the system. The process of smart auditing contracts includes both error testing and checking the sender of messages, and testing changes in the state of the smart contract. In other words, auditing is like testing code.

What is a Smart Contract, and how does it work?

Smart contracts are programs that contain data and perform certain functions every time the network tries to gain access to carry out transactions requested by users.

If we talk about what smart contracts are, then this is a type of account that works on the blockchain and is called Ethereum. Ethereum is represented as coins. Reports can use smart contracts to access data. By sending a transaction that is responsible for specific functions in the smart contract, the user account gains access to the data present in the smart contract.

A smart contract can be represented as a vending machine. This machine is triggered every time a person puts money into it and receives a product.

What to look for when choosing tools

You probably know that contracts are very dynamic, and great to scan them manually. However, it would help if you had other tools to be able to research contracts. Special popular tools will help you carefully examine the code, identify all smart contract vulnerabilities, and conduct static analysis. Even after the project is launched, you need to monitor transactions constantly and immediately inform the participants in the transaction in case of suspicious activity.

The main requirement for using the tool is the presence of an ecosystem and conditions that will facilitate the work with a smart contract throughout the entire time of creation. You will be able to audit contracts to identify threats. Also, the tool will allow you to create new arrangements that you will need according to your needs.

MythX

The MythX application provides its users with a complete set of analytical functions, such as dynamic analysis, security analysis, symbolic execution, static analysis, etc. And depending on the “level” of the subscription, you will also have access to different types of scanning. For example, mythX helps you find security vulnerabilities in your contract code by using symbolic analysis to find common code errors. To use the service, the client needs to use an API key.

Truffle

One of the most popular blockchain application development tools is the Truffle framework. It serves as an excellent testing framework and a stable development environment. Any developer in the world can use many platforms, including Ethereum smart contracts, Quorum, and others. After all, Truffle provides many possibilities for creating a multifunctional platform.

Truffle, at its core, is a Node.js framework for compiling smart contracts. In addition, the tool gives developers scripted smart contract deployment, custom deployment support, and access to packages. There is much more, such as smart contract testing automation, an interactive console, a custom build pipeline, and network management. All this provides ample opportunities for development and troubleshooting.

In general, Truffle allows developers to interact with the underlying state of smart contracts without having extensive knowledge of client-side programming.

Rattle

The analyzing smart contracts tool takes lines of code and implements flow-sensitive analysis to reconstruct the control flow graph. The tool also converts the control flow graph into the form of SSA and improves it by discarding complex things. This allows you to translate the stack machine into a simple interface, which in turn makes it easier for a person to read the smart contract.

Mythril

When conducting smart contract security audits, Mythril uses taint analysis and control flow verification to detect vulnerabilities in a smart contract. The tool is suitable for eliminating standard vulnerabilities in smart contract based on Ethereum, Hedera, Tron, Roostock, and many other EVM compatible blockchains. The Mythril tool in the MythX platform is used in conjunction with other tools.

Securify

Securify is an all-in-one smart code quality scanner. Click on the scan button, and the tool will perform a contract audit and notify you of vulnerabilities if any. Securify reports the found problem directly in the line of solidity code where the error was encountered. The Info button will give you a more detailed error report. There may be problems such as the lack of verification of the entered data, a call to a suspicious contact, unlimited storage writes, etc. But it is worth remembering that you will not be able to use the web tool offline.

How can Smart Contracts be secured?

The high-security level is why many organizations use smart contracts. It acts as an intermediary in making various kinds of transactions. However, platforms running on smart contracts have been hacked due to poor implementation of the source code, lack of contract audits, and generally inadequate security measures.

The developers are faced with the task of ensuring smart contract security from the very beginning of the project. Here are some tips to help novice developers implement a more robust security system that can prevent many hacker attacks:

1. Write and use secure code using best practices shared by many successful platforms.
2. Conduct smart contract security audit and penetration testing on a regular basis.
3. Use the tools above to run a smart contract security scan.
4. And finally, use reliable blockchain tools for design, security, smart contract security audit, and operation.

FAQ