Security / Audit·Multi-chain
Code4rena
Competitive audit platform where 100+ wardens review a fixed scope over 3-14 days for a sponsor-funded prize pool. Findings are judged for severity and uniqueness; awards are distributed pro rata via the C4 awarding algorithm.
- 01broad coverage from a large auditor pool
- 02guaranteed-payout pre-launch reviews
- 03complement to a private/fixed-fee audit
- 04post-fix mitigation reviews
- 05public reports for marketing and DD
- # No package — engage via https://code4rena.com/sponsor
- # Wardens: register at https://code4rena.com and submit findings via the contest UI
Use Code4rena for a competitive audit before mainnet. Sponsors submit a scope (commit hash, file list, LOC, prize pool, contest length) via the sponsor form; C4 typically requires a minimum prize pool sized to LOC and complexity. During the contest, wardens submit High/Medium/QA/Gas findings; judges deduplicate and grade them. Awards: 80% of the HM pool to unique HM finders, plus 10% bonuses for greatest-unique and greatest-valid HM counts. Publish the official report and treat it as one input — pair with Sherlock or Spearbit for senior coverage.
- ⚑Reward distribution is heavily front-loaded toward unique HMs — duplicates get a small slice; sponsors should expect a long tail of QA/Gas reports that are not real bugs.
- ⚑Scope inclusion is strict: anything not explicitly listed in the contest README is out-of-scope and findings will be invalidated, even if exploitable.
- ⚑Severity labels (High/Medium) follow C4's docs, not OWASP/CVSS — a 'Medium' on C4 may be a Critical elsewhere; map back via the Severity Categorization page before quoting.
- ⚑Mitigation review (post-fix) is a separate paid contest — budget for it; un-reviewed fixes are a frequent source of post-launch incidents.
- ⚑Public contests leak your code on the contest start date; pre-revenue protocols often prefer private C4 'audit' track or Sherlock instead.
- ⚑Awards are paid in two batches with KYC requirements above thresholds; non-KYC wardens may forfeit a portion.