secure-workflow-guide

by trailofbits

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SKILL.md About

---
name: secure-workflow-guide
description: Guides through Trail of Bits' 5-step secure development workflow. Runs Slither scans, checks special features (upgradeability/ERC conformance/token integration), generates visual security diagrams, helps document security properties for fuzzing/verification, and reviews manual security areas.
---

# Secure Workflow Guide

## Purpose

Guides through Trail of Bits' secure development workflow - a 5-step process to enhance smart contract security throughout development.

**Use this**: On every check-in, before deployment, or when you want a security review

---

## The 5-Step Workflow

Covers a security workflow including:

### Step 1: Check for Known Security Issues
Run Slither with 70+ built-in detectors to find common vulnerabilities:
- Parse findings by severity
- Explain each issue with file references
- Recommend fixes
- Help triage false positives

**Goal**: Clean Slither report or documented triages

### Step 2: Check Special Features
Detect and validate applicable features:
- **Upgradeability**: slither-check-upgradeability (17 upgrade risks)
- **ERC conformance**: slither-check-erc (6 common specs)
- **Token integration**: Recommend token-integration-analyzer skill
- **Security properties**: slither-prop for ERC20

**Note**: Only runs checks that apply to your codebase

### Step 3: Visual Security Inspection
Generate 3 security diagrams:
- **Inheritance graph**: Identify shadowing and C3 linearization issues
- **Function summary**: Show visibility and access controls
- **Variables and authorization**: Map who can write to state variables

Review each diagram for security concerns

### Step 4: Document Security Properties
Help document critical security properties:
- State machine transitions and invariants
- Access control requirements
- Arithmetic constraints and precision
- External interaction safety
- Standards conformance

Then set up testing:
- **Echidna**: Property-based fuzzing with invariants
- **Manticore**: Formal verification with symbolic execution
- **Custom Slither checks**: Project-specific business logic

**Note**: Most important activity for security

### Step 5: Manual Review Areas
Analyze areas automated tools miss:
- **Privacy**: On-chain secrets, commit-reveal needs
- **Front-running**: Slippage protection, ordering risks, MEV
- **Cryptography**: Weak randomness, signature issues, hash collisions
- **DeFi interactions**: Oracle manipulation, flash loans, protocol assumptions

Search codebase for these patterns and flag risks

For detailed instructions, commands, and explanations for each step, see [WORKFLOW_STEPS.md](resources/WORKFLOW_STEPS.md).

---

## How I Work

When invoked, I will:

1. **Explore your codebase** to understand structure
2. **Run Step 1**: Slither security scan
3. **Detect and run Step 2**: Special feature checks (only what applies)
4. **Generate Step 3**: Visual security diagrams
5. **Guide Step 4**: Security property documentation
6. **Analyze Step 5**: Manual review areas
7. **Provide action plan**: Prioritized fixes and next steps

Adapts based on:
- What tools you have installed
- What's applicable to your project
- Where you are in development

---

## Rationalizations (Do Not Skip)

| Rationalization | Why It's Wrong | Required Action |
|-----------------|----------------|-----------------|
| "Slither not available, I'll check manually" | Manual checking misses 70+ detector patterns | Install and run Slither, or document why it's blocked |
| "Can't generate diagrams, I'll describe the architecture" | Descriptions aren't visual - diagrams reveal patterns text misses | Execute slither --print commands, generate actual visual outputs |
| "No upgrades detected, skip upgradeability checks" | Proxies and upgrades are often implicit or planned | Verify with codebase search before skipping Step 2 checks |
| "Not a token, skip ERC checks" | Tokens can be integrated without obvious ERC inheritance | Check for token interactions, transfers, balances before skipping |
| "Can't set up Echidna now, suggesting it for later" | Property-based testing is Step 4, not optional | Document properties now, set up fuzzing infrastructure |
| "No DeFi interactions, skip oracle/flash loan checks" | DeFi patterns appear in unexpected places (price feeds, external calls) | Complete Step 5 manual review, search codebase for patterns |
| "This step doesn't apply to my project" | "Not applicable" without verification = missed vulnerabilities | Verify with explicit codebase search before declaring N/A |
| "I'll provide generic security advice instead of running workflow" | Generic advice isn't actionable, workflow finds specific issues | Execute all 5 steps, generate project-specific findings with file:line references |

---

## Example Output

When I complete the workflow, you'll get a comprehensive security report covering:

- **Step 1**: Slither findings with severity, file references, and fix recommendations
- **Step 2**: Special feature validation results (upgradeability, ERC conformance, etc.)
- **Step 3**: Visual diagrams analyzing inheritance, functions, and state variable authorization
- **Step 4**: Documented security properties and testing setup (Echidna/Manticore)
- **Step 5**: Manual review findings (privacy, front-running, cryptography, DeFi risks)
- **Action plan**: Critical/high/medium priority tasks with effort estimates
- **Workflow checklist**: Progress on all 5 steps

For a complete example workflow report, see [EXAMPLE_REPORT.md](resources/EXAMPLE_REPORT.md).

---

## What You'll Get

**Security Report**:
- Slither findings with severity and fixes
- Special feature validation results
- Visual diagrams (PNG/PDF)
- Manual review findings

**Action Plan**:
- [ ] Critical issues to fix immediately
- [ ] Security properties to document
- [ ] Testing to set up (Echidna/Manticore)
- [ ] Manual areas to review

**Workflow Checklist**:
- [ ] Clean Slither report
- [ ] Special features validated
- [ ] Visual inspection complete
- [ ] Properties documented
- [ ] Manual review done

---

## Getting Help

**Trail of Bits Resources**:
- Office Hours: Every Tuesday ([schedule](https://meetings.hubspot.com/trailofbits/office-hours))
- Empire Hacking Slack: #crytic and #ethereum channels

**Other Security**:
- Remember: Security is about more than smart contracts
- Off-chain security (owner keys, infrastructure) equally critical

---

## Ready to Start

Let me know when you're ready and I'll run through the workflow with your codebase!