Our audit methodology combines automated analysis with expert manual review, delivering a detailed risk assessment for your upgrade or migration. We focus on the specific vulnerabilities introduced by state changes and complex interactions.
LABS
Services
Smart Contract Upgrade and Migration Audit
A specialized security audit service for DeFi protocols undergoing upgrades, migrations, or major version changes. We verify the integrity of new logic, migration paths, and data consistency to prevent exploits and protect user assets.
Chainscore © 2026
key-features
MULTI-LAYER SECURITY
Comprehensive Audit Coverage
01
Upgrade Pattern Analysis
We audit the security and correctness of your upgrade mechanism (e.g., Transparent Proxy, UUPS) to prevent storage collisions, function clashing, and initialization vulnerabilities.
50+
Upgrades Audited
Zero
Post-Audit Exploits
02
State Migration Verification
Rigorous validation of data migration logic to ensure asset integrity, prevent loss, and guarantee consistency between old and new contract states.
100%
Coverage Guarantee
$0
Tolerance for Loss
03
Integration & Dependency Review
Analysis of external calls, oracle integrations, and protocol dependencies to ensure the upgraded system functions correctly within the broader ecosystem.
360°
Dependency Map
< 72h
Risk Assessment
04
Gas & Performance Optimization
Identification of inefficiencies in migration logic and new functions, providing actionable recommendations to reduce gas costs by 15-40% for end-users.
15-40%
Gas Reduction
Benchmarked
vs. Industry Avg.
audit-methodology
METHODICAL & COMPREHENSIVE
Our Upgrade & Migration Audit Process
A structured, multi-phase audit designed to de-risk your protocol's evolution. We don't just review code; we validate the entire upgrade lifecycle to ensure security, correctness, and operational readiness.
01
Pre-Migration Architecture Review
We analyze the target architecture, governance flow, and data migration strategy before a single line of code is written. This identifies systemic risks in the upgrade design, preventing costly rework.
100%
Design Coverage
2-3 days
Initial Review
02
Differential Code Analysis
Our automated and manual review isolates changes between old and new contract versions. We focus on state variable mutations, storage layout conflicts, and logic regressions that could break existing integrations.
Zero
Storage Collisions
Line-by-Line
Change Analysis
04
Post-Upgrade Simulation & Testing
We execute the upgrade on a forked mainnet environment, simulating user interactions and edge cases. This validates that the migration script executes correctly and the new system behaves as intended under load.
Forked Mainnet
Test Environment
> 50
Edge Cases Simulated
05
Final Verification & Sign-off
Delivery of a comprehensive audit report with actionable findings, severity ratings, and remediation guidance. We provide a final security attestation upon successful resolution of all critical/high issues.
Detailed
Remediation Guide
Formal
Security Attestation
Comprehensive Security Packages
Audit Scope & Deliverables
Our tiered audit services provide a clear path from initial security validation to full production support for your smart contract upgrade or migration.
| Audit Component | Essential | Professional | Enterprise |
|---|---|---|---|
Smart Contract Code Review | |||
Upgrade/Migration Logic Analysis | |||
State Variable & Storage Layout Audit | |||
Governance & Access Control Review | |||
Integration & Dependency Analysis | |||
Formal Verification Report | |||
Pre- & Post-Deployment Checklist | |||
Deployment Monitoring & Support | |||
Post-Launch Security Review (30-day) | |||
Critical Issue Response Time | 72h | 24h | 4h |
Final Deliverable | Audit Report | Report + Remediation Support | Full Lifecycle Package |
Typical Timeline | 5-7 days | 10-14 days | 3-4 weeks |
Starting Price | $8,000 | $25,000 | Custom Quote |
security-focus-areas
AUDIT METHODOLOGY
Critical Security Focus Areas
Our upgrade and migration audits follow a systematic, multi-layered approach to identify risks that could lead to fund loss, governance failure, or protocol disruption. We deliver actionable reports with prioritized fixes.
01
Storage Layout & State Corruption
We meticulously analyze storage variable layouts between old and new contract versions to prevent critical state corruption, data loss, or unintended inheritance collisions during upgrades.
100%
Layout Verification
EIP-1967
Standard Adherence
02
Initialization & Constructor Risks
Comprehensive review of initialization functions and proxy patterns to eliminate re-initialization attacks, front-running vulnerabilities, and ensure one-time, secure setup.
Zero
Reentrancy Risk
UUPS/Transparent
Proxy Support
03
Function Selector & ABI Clashes
Detect dangerous collisions in function selectors between the proxy, implementation, and inherited libraries that could lead to unintended function execution or denial-of-service.
Full
Selector Analysis
OpenZeppelin
Library Checks
04
Governance & Access Control Migration
Audit permission and role transitions to ensure admin keys, timelocks, and multi-sig controls are correctly transferred without creating centralization risks or privilege escalation.
Role-Based
Access Review
Secure Handoff
Guarantee
05
Gas Optimization & Economic Safety
Evaluate gas cost implications of new logic and storage patterns to prevent economic attacks, ensure user affordability, and maintain protocol efficiency post-migration.
>20%
Gas Savings Target
Economic Audit
Included
06
Integration & Dependency Review
Verify compatibility with all external integrations (oracles, bridges, other contracts) and dependencies to ensure the upgraded system functions within the broader ecosystem.
End-to-End
Compatibility Check
Third-Party
Dependency Audit
Structured, Predictable Delivery
Smart Contract Upgrade & Migration Audit Timeline
Our phased audit methodology ensures a systematic review of your upgrade or migration, from initial code assessment to final deployment verification, delivering actionable security insights at every stage.
| Phase | Key Deliverables | Duration | Team Involvement |
|---|---|---|---|
Phase 1: Discovery & Scoping | Audit scope document, threat model, test plan | 3-5 business days | Kickoff call, requirements review |
Phase 2: Automated Analysis | Static analysis report, vulnerability triage, gas optimization baseline | 2-4 business days | Access to code repository, initial findings sync |
Phase 3: Manual Code Review | Line-by-line audit report, vulnerability classification (Critical/High/Medium/Low), remediation recommendations | 5-10 business days | Mid-review sync to discuss findings |
Phase 4: Remediation & Verification | Updated audit report, verification of fixes, final security score | 3-7 business days | Collaborative fix review, Q&A sessions |
Phase 5: Final Reporting & Handoff | Executive summary, technical deep-dive report, deployment checklist, optional attestation letter | 2-3 business days | Final presentation, report handoff, deployment support |
business-benefits
PROTECT YOUR PROTOCOL
Business Value & Risk Mitigation
Our upgrade and migration audits deliver measurable security and operational benefits, directly protecting your treasury and user trust.
01
Zero-Downtime Migration Assurance
We architect and validate migration paths that ensure continuous service availability, preventing revenue loss and user churn during critical upgrades.
100%
Uptime Target
Pre-tested
Rollback Plans
02
State & Data Integrity Verification
Comprehensive analysis guarantees all user balances, permissions, and protocol state are perfectly preserved post-migration, eliminating data corruption risks.
100%
Data Fidelity
Automated
Consistency Checks
04
Future-Proof Architecture
Design reviews ensure your upgrade system adheres to best practices (e.g., EIP-1967, UUPS), maintaining security and reducing technical debt for future iterations.
EIP-Compliant
Standards
Modular
Design
05
Regulatory & Compliance Safeguards
Audit for adherence to relevant financial regulations and internal policy logic, providing documentation trails for governance and investor due diligence.
Audit Trail
Full Documentation
Role-Based
Access Logs
06
Cost & Gas Optimization
Identify and eliminate inefficiencies in migration logic and storage layouts, reducing one-time migration costs and ongoing transaction fees for users.
Up to 40%
Gas Reduction
Optimized
Storage Slots
Smart Contract Upgrade & Migration
Frequently Asked Questions
Get clear answers on our audit methodology, timeline, deliverables, and how we ensure your protocol's security during critical upgrades.
We employ a hybrid methodology combining automated analysis with deep manual review. Our process includes: 1) Differential Analysis comparing old and new contract logic to identify unintended side effects. 2) State Invariant Testing to ensure post-upgrade data integrity. 3) Governance & Access Control Review for new admin functions. 4) Integration Testing with frontends and oracles. This multi-layered approach has secured over $500M in TVL across 50+ protocol upgrades.
ENQUIRY
Get In Touch
today.
Our experts will offer a free quote and a 30min call to discuss your project.
NDA Protected
Confidentiality24h Response
Time to ValueDirectly to Engineering Team
No Sales Fluff10+
Protocols Shipped
$20M+
TVL Overall