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Security
Trail of Bits Blog·21h ago·5 min read
Auditing in the age of (good enough) AI
TL;DR
Custom tools like an LSP server and static analysis engine were developed to enhance the security review of the Miden VM, uncovering critical vulnerabilities and producing 95 correctness proofs.
✦ Why It Matters
Invest in developing custom tooling for your projects to enhance security reviews and uncover hidden vulnerabilities.
Key Takeaways
- Develop custom tools to improve code review processes.
- Utilize static analysis to identify security vulnerabilities early.
- Implement machine-checked proofs for critical components.
- Prepare for reviews by investing time in tooling development.
Full Summary
Security firms are increasingly using AI to enhance code reviews, moving beyond just bug detection. In a recent project, a team spent six months developing custom tools for the Miden VM, a new zero-knowledge virtual machine with limited existing developer support.
They created a Language Server Protocol (LSP) server, a decompiler, and a static analysis engine, which collectively identified significant security issues, including a vulnerability that could allow fund theft. Additionally, they produced 95 machine-checked correctness proofs using the Lean theorem prover, ensuring the reliability of the Miden core library.
This approach demonstrates how tailored AI tools can significantly improve the depth and quality of security audits, especially in complex environments with novel architectures.