Survey on Quality Assurance of Smart Contracts

Abstract

As blockchain technology continues to advance, the secure deployment of smart contracts has become increasingly prevalent, underscoring the critical need for robust security measures. This surge in usage has led to a rise in security breaches, often resulting in substantial financial losses for users. This paper presents a comprehensive survey of smart contract quality assurance, from understanding vulnerabilities to evaluating the effectiveness of detection tools. Our work is notable for its innovative classification of forty smart contract vulnerabilities, mapping them to established attack patterns. We further examine nine defense mechanisms, assessing their efficacy in mitigating smart contract attacks. Furthermore, we develop a labeled dataset as a benchmark encompassing ten common vulnerability types, which serves as a critical resource for future research. We also conduct comprehensive experiments to evaluate fourteen vulnerability detection tools, providing a comparative analysis that highlights their strengths and limitations. In summary, this survey synthesizes state-of-the-art knowledge in smart contract security, offering practical recommendations to guide future research and foster the development of robust security practices in the field.