GPT-4 shows promise in smart contract code parsing and PoC writing but falls short in detecting vulnerabilities effectively.
Smart contracts, automated programs on blockchain like Ethereum, execute predefined actions of agreements or contracts. These contracts ensure that once a transaction is completed, it is traceable and irreversible. While smart contracts automate transactions and uphold network rules, their reliance on code and immutability raises significant security concerns. Flaws in smart contract code can introduce vulnerabilities, making them targets for attacks, resulting in substantial financial losses. The article references multiple incidents, including a $325 million theft from Wormhole in February 2022 and a $197 million loss by Euler Finance in March 2023, based on a report by Arvix.
GPT-4 in Smart Contract Security
Recent advancements in Large Language Models (LLMs), particularly the Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT) series, have ushered in new possibilities for analyzing and generating text. GPT-4, the latest iteration, offers impressive capabilities in text analysis and generation, presenting a promising tool for smart contract audits. The report evaluates GPT-4’s effectiveness in detecting vulnerabilities within smart contracts, leveraging a dataset from the SolidiFI-benchmark vulnerability library. This library contains 35 smart contracts with 732 known vulnerabilities, providing a comprehensive ground for assessing GPT-4’s detection, code parsing, and Proof of Concept (PoC) writing abilities.
GPT-4 in Vulnerability Detection
The evaluation of GPT-4’s performance reveals a nuanced capability in the domain of smart contract security. GPT-4 demonstrated high precision in identifying vulnerabilities, with a precision rate of 96.6%, suggesting it rarely misidentifies non-vulnerabilities as vulnerabilities. However, its low recall rate of 37.8% indicates a significant number of missed vulnerabilities, highlighting a crucial area for improvement. The F1-score, a balance of precision and recall, stands at 41.1%, suggesting GPT-4’s current limitations in effectively detecting all present vulnerabilities.
Despite these challenges in vulnerability detection, GPT-4 excels in understanding and parsing the code of smart contracts. It achieved an average comprehensive score of 6.5 out of 10 in accurately identifying contract backgrounds and functional relationships. This capability is particularly notable in scenarios where GPT-4 can write usable PoCs for identified vulnerabilities, demonstrating success in 60% of the cases. This suggests GPT-4’s potential as a valuable tool for writing PoCs, albeit with room for improvement in detecting vulnerabilities.
Smart Contract Audits with GPT-4
While GPT-4’s proficiency in vulnerability detection may currently fall short, its strengths in code parsing and PoC writing hint at a significant role in assisting smart contract audits. GPT-4’s adeptness at understanding contract codes can streamline the audit process, offering insights into potential security flaws and suggesting corrective measures. However, its limitations in detecting vulnerabilities underscore the necessity of integrating GPT-4 with traditional auditing tools and methodologies to achieve a comprehensive audit outcome.
Professional auditors and security analysts can leverage GPT-4’s capabilities to enhance efficiency and effectiveness in smart contract audits. By combining GPT-4’s analytical prowess with experienced human judgment, the auditing process can become more robust, reducing the risk of overlooking critical vulnerabilities. This collaborative approach can lead to a more thorough understanding of smart contract security, contributing to the development and deployment of more secure blockchain applications.