Web3 protocols are attacked by real adversaries: MEV searchers, flash loan attackers, oracle manipulators, governance abusers, and not by linters. Traditional audits often stop at static analysis, pattern matching, and PDF reports. They rarely behave like an attacker trying to break your protocol on a forked mainnet and prove it with a TX hash.
VectorGuard Labs delivers adversarial pre-audit security assessments using its 15-Phase Framework + 338-vector attack library to stress, break, and validate your protocol before you ever talk to a Tier-1 audit firm.
We don't just "review code" - we attempt to break it using the VectorGuard Labs 15-phase methodology, then back every Critical/High/Medium finding with exploit scripts, execution traces, and attacker balance deltas.
Reentrancy, MEV, oracle and bridge manipulation, governance capture, rounding and accounting drift, AA/EIP-4337, hooks, cross-chain desyncs, economic attacks, and more, modeled from billions of dollars in real exploits.
Every meaningful finding includes root cause analysis, exploit narrative, reproduction steps, and (when feasible) a fork-based PoC that shows before/after balances, invariant violation, and protocol state diffs.
We prioritize attack paths that can actually kill your protocol or users, combining automated tooling, invariant testing, and exploit development into a tight, goal-driven engagement window.
We don't compete with firms like Trail of Bits, OpenZeppelin, Certik, or Cyfrin. We prepare you for them so formal auditors see a hardened codebase, real exploit coverage, and a protocol that takes security seriously.
We model what your protocol is supposed to do, then define hard invariants around solvency, share accounting, access control, cross-chain state, and economic safety and attempt to violate them.
Static analysis, mutation tests, symbolic execution, stateless and stateful fuzzing, property tests, and invariant tests across high-risk flows to push your contracts into weird, adversarial edge cases.
Coverage across lending, AMMs, vaults, staking, governance, liquidations, LSTs, AA, hooks, and bridges mirroring how real attackers chain protocols together for maximum impact.
Where chains support it, we use mainnet forks (or their equivalents) to simulate attacks with real liquidity, oracle feeds, and gas constraints, capturing TX hashes and execution traces as proof.
We analyze profitability and incentives for rational attackers, flash loan windows, oracle manipulation profit, governance capture ROI, and long-horizon economic attacks.
We investigate how your protocol can be broken via integrated protocols, bridges, oracles, AA, and hooks not just within your own repo.
Our pre-audit assessments are driven by the VectorGuard Pro 15-Phase Framework and a 338-vector attack library built from real exploits, not theory.
View Complete 338-Vector Attack Suite Documentation
Framework derived from thousands of real-world exploits - Continuously updated as new attack patterns and ecosystems emerge
Unlike speculative scanners or AI-driven tools that exaggerate risk, VectorGuard Labs operates on a strict validated-only reporting model.
This guarantee is enforced through our Phase-0 grounding logic, proof-first methodology, hypothesis rejection controls, and evidence-required reporting standards.
VectorGuard Labs delivers truth, not theatrics so you can walk into a formal audit confident that every finding is real, defensible, and validated.
Deep-dive exploit analysis demonstrating how VectorGuard Labs methodology catches real vulnerabilities
Technical breakdown of the January 2026 Makina Finance hack. Analysis covers permissionless oracle functions, spot price dependency vulnerabilities, and Weiroll integration exposure that enabled a single-transaction $4.13M extraction.
Read Full AnalysisAnalysis of how routine maintenance operations were exploited to drain $2.7M from Aevo. Covers access control failures, privileged function abuse, and the attack vectors our methodology would have flagged pre-deployment.
Read Full AnalysisOriginal research exposing how flawed economic assumptions in DeFi protocols create guaranteed failure conditions over time. Demonstrates our game-theoretic and incentive analysis methodology for catching vulnerabilities that static analysis misses.
Read Full AnalysisRetrospective analysis mapping VectorGuard's 15-Phase Framework against a major historical DeFi exploit. Demonstrates exactly which phases would have caught the vulnerability and how our attack vector library covers this class of exploit.
Read Full AnalysisVerified Security Researcher — Active participant in competitive audit contests with validated findings on Sherlock
Founder, VectorGuard Labs
8 years in blockchain development. 2 years in smart contract security research. I've spent nearly a decade building in Web3 and the last two years breaking it - first through internal security work, then through competitive bug bounty contests on platforms like Sherlock.
My approach is simple: think like an attacker, document like an engineer, and deliver findings that are proven, not speculated. Every vulnerability I report comes with evidence - exploit scripts, transaction traces, and economic impact analysis.
I hold a degree from Xavier University of Louisiana and have dedicated my career to making Web3 protocols more secure before they reach mainnet.
Every VectorGuard Labs engagement produces a structured, adversarial report bundle designed to get you ready for Tier-1 audits.
"We don't ship vague opinions. We deliver adversarial, evidence-backed analysis using the VectorGuard 15-Phase Framework and 338-vector library, so you can walk into a formal audit with a hardened codebase, real exploit coverage, and a clear remediation plan."
A structured, three-stage view of how we apply the 15-phase VectorGuard framework to your protocol.
Confirmed vulnerability findings on Sherlock
Every Critical/High finding backed by a runnable proof-of-concept
Select the tier that best matches your protocol's complexity and scope
< 2,000 Lines of Code
2,001 - 5,000 Lines of Code
5,001 - 10,000 Lines of Code
10,001+ Lines of Code
3,000
First retest included free with every engagement. Additional retests include fix verification, regression checks, and updated report.
VISA/MC/AMEX/DISC or USDC on BASE
Payment details provided in your invoice after signing.
VectorGuard Labs provides an adversarial pre-audit assessment. We behave like attackers: we threat model, define invariants, fuzz, simulate, and (where possible) build exploit PoCs on forks. Formal audits are typically compliance and assurance artifacts that happen after you've hardened your code. Our job is to prepare you so audit firms find fewer issues and you have stronger evidence of security.
You'll receive a professional, adversarial security assessment focused on identifying real, exploitable risks in your protocol. Depending on the engagement scope, this includes structured attack-surface analysis, systematic testing using VectorGuard Labs' methodology, clear findings with severity and impact explanations, and concrete remediation guidance. Where exploitation is realistically demonstrable, findings are supported with technical evidence to validate risk, helping your team remediate issues confidently and prepare for a formal audit without surprises.
VectorGuard Labs does preliminary security assessments on Solidity, Vyper, Rust, Cairo, and Move smart contracts across EVM chains and other ecosystems. The 15-phase framework adapts to each stack using the strongest available validation method on that chain (forks, localnets, test-validators, or execution traces).
We need your smart contract source code. That's it. No test files, no documentation, etc. We can work with private GitHub repos or secure file transfers. Like attackers, we won't read your documentation, tokenomics, or whitepapers.
We sign comprehensive NDAs before accessing any code and maintain strict confidentiality protocols. Your code is stored in encrypted, access-controlled environments and is deleted after engagement completion. Our role is to help you harden and protect your codebase, not to reuse or disclose your intellectual property.
Tier 1 (Small Protocol) assessments typically complete within 1-2 weeks. Tier 2 (Medium Protocol) takes 2-3 weeks. Tier 3 (Complex Protocol) requires 3-5 weeks. Tier 4 (Enterprise) timelines are custom-scoped based on complexity. All timelines include detailed reports highlighting vulnerabilities, attack scenarios, and recommended fixes.
No. The VectorGuard attack vectors represent a comprehensive threat model, not a checklist applied blindly. Your protocol is first analyzed to determine which vectors are actually relevant to its architecture, assets, and integrations. We then apply the applicable vectors rigorously and go deep on the areas that present the highest real-world exploit risk, rather than performing superficial checks where no realistic attack surface exists.
No security assessment can guarantee that all vulnerabilities are eliminated. What we provide is structured, adversarial, evidence-backed testing using the VectorGuard framework. Our goal is to dramatically reduce your risk, uncover realistic attack paths, and prepare you for formal audits—not to promise absolute immunity from future bugs or exploits.
No, VectorGuard Labs strongly recommend proceeding to a formal third-party audit before mainnet deployment. Our pre-audit assessment is designed to prepare you for a successful formal audit by identifying and fixing vulnerabilities early. The formal audit provides the final compliance certification needed for mainnet launch, and you should treat our work as a high-value, adversarial pre-stage not a replacement.
Tier 1 is ideal for simple, single-contract protocols with no complex integrations.
Tier 2 fits protocols with multiple interacting contracts, oracle dependencies, or moderate complexity.
Tier 3 is designed for complex systems with multi-chain deployment, heavy DeFi integrations, or governance mechanics.
Tier 4 is for enterprise-grade infrastructure requiring dedicated timelines and multiple review cycles.
Not sure? Reach out with your repo link and we'll recommend the appropriate tier.
VectorGuard Labs accepts VISA/MC/AMEX/DISC and USDC on the BASE blockchain. Payment details will be provided in your invoice after signing the service agreement.