Static Analysis of Gas-Related Vulnerabilities in Smart Contracts

PhD Qualifying Examination


Title: "Static Analysis of Gas-Related Vulnerabilities in Smart Contracts"

by

Mr. Soroush FAROKHNIA


Abstract:

Blockchain functions as a distributed ledger, allowing participants to 
conduct fund transfers without reliance on a centralized authority. 
Additionally, the concept of blockchain has been extended to facilitate the 
execution of decentralized programs known as smart contracts. However, the 
expressive nature of smart contracts permits programmers to create arbitrary 
programs, which can be exploited by attackers to initiate denial-of-service 
(DoS) attacks, such as infinite loops, thereby obstructing the entire 
network. To address this issue, the concept of gas was introduced to quantify 
computation, which not only establishes an upper limit on resource usage but 
also charges users based on the resources they consume. Nonetheless, the 
implementation of gas has posed challenges for the community, as it has 
proven to be expensive and has introduced gas-specific vulnerabilities. As a 
valuable resource, gas can be manipulated by attackers to provoke undesirable 
behavior in a victim's smart contract, leading to the depletion or blockage 
of the victim's funds. Research has shown that such oversights have resulted 
in significant (millions of dollars) financial losses for users.

The following survey investigates gas-related vulnerabilities and evaluates 
the efficacy of existing static analysis tools, including MadMax, eTainter, 
GASTAP, and Asparagus, in identifying these vulnerabilities. Furthermore, the 
survey analyzes the methodologies utilized by these tools and assesses their 
overall effectiveness.


Date:                   Tuesday, 29 October 2024

Time:                   4:00pm - 6:00pm

Venue:                  Room 5501
                        Lifts 25/26

Committee Members:      Dr. Amir Goharshady (Supervisor)
                        Prof. Fangzhen Lin (Chairperson)
                        Prof. Andrew Horner
                        Dr. Xiaomin Ouyang