Glossary definition

Audit

A smart contract audit is an independent, scope-bound security review of blockchain code using manual analysis, testing, tooling, and documented findings.

also: smart contract audit, security audit, code audit · reviewed July 22, 2026

A smart contract audit is a security review of blockchain code by independent researchers to identify vulnerabilities, logic errors, and potential exploits before deployment.

Audits combine manual and automated analysis. Manual review, where auditors examine code line by line, makes up roughly 90% of the work. Automated analysis using static-analysis tools such as Wake helps surface common issues and code-quality problems, but cannot replace human judgment for complex logic and protocol-specific risks.

During an audit, security researchers typically:

  • Analyze the codebase for known vulnerability patterns such as reentrancy, access-control issues, and arithmetic errors
  • Test edge cases and attack scenarios by deploying contracts locally
  • Review business logic against documentation and intended behavior
  • Check for compliance with relevant standards such as ERC-20 and ERC-721
  • Manually fuzz-test critical functions to discover unexpected states

Audit findings are classified by severity, from informational notes to critical vulnerabilities that require immediate fixes. The final report documents all issues found, their potential impact, and recommended fixes.

ack3 researchers have performed security audits for protocols including Lido, Aave, Safe, Axelar, and LayerZero. Our reports classify findings into six severity levels: Informational, Warning, Low, Medium, High, and Critical. Read the public audit reports.

Used in context

Articles using this term.