Why VectorGuard Labs Exists
Web3 protocols are attacked by real adversaries — not by linters. We go further than traditional audits.
Web3 protocols face MEV searchers, flash loan attackers, oracle manipulators, and governance abusers. Traditional audits often stop at static analysis, pattern matching, and PDF reports. They rarely behave like an attacker trying to break your protocol on a forked mainnet and prove it with a TX hash.
VectorGuard Labs delivers adversarial pre-audit security assessments using its 15-Phase Framework + 338-vector attack library to stress, break, and validate your protocol before you ever talk to a Tier-1 audit firm.
- Identify Critical, High, and Medium impact paths that could drain funds, corrupt state, or kill the protocol.
- Enter formal audits with fewer surprises, cleaner code, and exploit-backed coverage, reducing iteration and cost.
- Build real security credibility with investors, auditors, and users by demonstrating adversarial testing.
- Receive concrete remediation guidance, exploit scripts, and invariants to harden against and reuse in future testing.
What Makes Us Different
Adversarial, Evidence-First Mindset
We don't just "review code" — we attempt to break it using the VectorGuard Labs 15-phase methodology, then back every Critical/High/Medium finding with exploit scripts, execution traces, and attacker balance deltas.
338 Real-World Attack Vectors
Reentrancy, MEV, oracle and bridge manipulation, governance capture, rounding drift, AA/EIP-4337, hooks, cross-chain desyncs, economic attacks — modeled from billions in real exploits.
Exploit-Backed Findings
Every meaningful finding includes root cause analysis, exploit narrative, reproduction steps, and (when feasible) a fork-based PoC showing before/after balances, invariant violation, and protocol state diffs.
Risk-Based, Time-Disciplined Execution
We prioritize attack paths that can actually kill your protocol or users, combining automated tooling, invariant testing, and exploit development into a tight, goal-driven engagement window.
Pre-Audit, Not Audit
We don't compete with Trail of Bits, OpenZeppelin, Certik, or Cyfrin. We prepare you for them — so formal auditors see a hardened codebase, real exploit coverage, and a protocol that takes security seriously.
Our Validation & Exploit Approach
How we find, prove, and document the vulnerabilities that matter.
Semantic & Invariant-Driven Analysis
We model what your protocol is supposed to do, then define hard invariants around solvency, share accounting, access control, cross-chain state, and economic safety — and attempt to violate them.
Automated Analysis & Fuzzing
Static analysis, mutation tests, symbolic execution, stateless and stateful fuzzing, property tests, and invariant tests across high-risk flows to push your contracts into adversarial edge cases.
DeFi Attack Surface Coverage
Coverage across lending, AMMs, vaults, staking, governance, liquidations, LSTs, AA, hooks, and bridges — mirroring how real attackers chain protocols together for maximum impact.
Fork-Based Attack Simulation
Where chains support it, we use mainnet forks to simulate attacks with real liquidity, oracle feeds, and gas constraints, capturing TX hashes and execution traces as proof.
Economic & Game-Theoretic Modeling
We analyze profitability and incentives for rational attackers — flash loan windows, oracle manipulation profit, governance capture ROI, and long-horizon economic attacks.
Integration & Cross-Chain Risk
We investigate how your protocol can be broken via integrated protocols, bridges, oracles, AA, and hooks — not just within your own repo.
The 338-Vector Attack Framework
Driven by the VectorGuard Pro 15-Phase Framework and a 338-vector attack library built from real exploits, not theory.
Framework derived from thousands of real-world exploits. Continuously updated as new attack patterns emerge.
Why You Can Trust VectorGuard Labs Assessments
Unlike speculative scanners or AI-driven tools that exaggerate risk, VectorGuard Labs operates on a strict validated-only reporting model.
- No fabricated vulnerabilities. If an exploit is not proven or demonstrable, it does not enter your report.
- No severity inflation. Findings must be economically and technically viable to be considered real.
- No theory-only issues. Missing features or stylistic disagreements are not misrepresented as vulnerabilities.
- No "busywork reports." If a protocol is sound, we explicitly state: "No Actionable Risks. Ready for Formal Audit."
This guarantee is enforced through our Phase-0 grounding logic, proof-first methodology, hypothesis rejection controls, and evidence-required reporting standards.
VectorGuard Labs delivers truth, not theatrics — so you can walk into a formal audit confident that every finding is real, defensible, and validated.
Published Security Research
Deep-dive exploit analysis demonstrating how VectorGuard Labs methodology catches real vulnerabilities.
How VectorGuard Labs Would Have Prevented the Makina Finance Exploit
Technical breakdown of the January 2026 Makina Finance hack. Analysis covers permissionless oracle functions, spot price dependency vulnerabilities, and Weiroll integration exposure that enabled a single-transaction $4.13M extraction.
Read Full AnalysisWhen Maintenance Turns Malicious: How VectorGuard Labs Would Have Stopped Aevo's $2.7M Loss
Analysis of how routine maintenance operations were exploited to drain $2.7M from Aevo. Covers access control failures, privileged function abuse, and the attack vectors our methodology would have flagged pre-deployment.
Read Full AnalysisWhen the Math Guarantees Failure: VectorGuard Labs Uncovers a DeFi Economic Time Bomb
Original research exposing how flawed economic assumptions create guaranteed failure conditions over time. Demonstrates our game-theoretic and incentive analysis methodology for catching vulnerabilities that static analysis misses.
Read Full AnalysisWhy VectorGuard Labs Would Have Saved $197M
Retrospective analysis mapping VectorGuard's 15-Phase Framework against a major historical DeFi exploit. Demonstrates exactly which phases would have caught the vulnerability and how our attack vector library covers this class of exploit.
Read Full AnalysisVerified Security Researcher — Active participant in competitive audit contests with validated findings on Sherlock
Meet Your Researcher
Pavon Dunbar
Founder, VectorGuard Labs
8 years in blockchain development. 2 years in smart contract security research. I've spent nearly a decade building in Web3 and the last two years breaking it — first through internal security work, then through competitive bug bounty contests on platforms like Sherlock.
My approach is simple: think like an attacker, document like an engineer, and deliver findings that are proven, not speculated. Every vulnerability I report comes with evidence — exploit scripts, transaction traces, and economic impact analysis.
I hold a degree from Xavier University of Louisiana and have dedicated my career to making Web3 protocols more secure before they reach mainnet.
Comprehensive, Exploit-Focused Security Report
Every engagement produces a structured, adversarial report bundle designed to get you ready for Tier-1 audits.
Core Deliverables
- Executive Summary — High-level risk narrative for founders, investors, and stakeholders.
- Technical Findings Report — Detailed vulnerability writeups with severity ratings, impact, and exploit reasoning.
- Attack Scenarios & Threat Chains — Multi-step exploit stories mirroring real attacker approaches.
- Exploit Artifacts (When Applicable) — Scripts, TX hashes, state diffs, and invariant violations.
- Remediation & Hardening Guidance — Concrete fixes and defensive design recommendations, prioritized by risk.
- VectorGuard Coverage Overview — Summary of attack categories and phases exercised.
Additional Analysis (When Applicable)
- Frontend Security Assessment — Web UI and client-side risks affecting contract interactions.
- Economic & Tokenomics Review — Incentive alignment and economic attack viability.
- Integration & Dependency Risk — External protocol, oracle, AA, hook, and bridge analysis.
- Governance & Control Structure — Admin, multisig, DAO, and upgrade mechanics scrutiny.
- Cross-Chain Security Review — Bridge flows, message passing, and desync risk.
"We don't ship vague opinions. We deliver adversarial, evidence-backed analysis using the VectorGuard 15-Phase Framework and 338-vector library, so you can walk into a formal audit with a hardened codebase, real exploit coverage, and a clear remediation plan."
To bring adversarial-grade security to Web3 before attackers do. We focus on pre-audit, exploit-driven assessments that find and validate the types of issues that actually get exploited in production.
We combine structured, 15-phase methodology with the VectorGuard 338-vector attack library, fork-based exploit validation (where supported), and invariant/economic modeling to stress your protocol like a real attacker would.
Our role is to prepare you for formal audits — not replace them — by helping you fix the highest-risk attack paths early, reduce back-and-forth with audit firms, and show users that you take security seriously.
Our Security Assessment Process
A structured, three-stage view of how we apply the 15-phase VectorGuard framework to your protocol.
Recon, Threat Modeling & Invariants
Duration: varies by tier
- Code & Architecture Review: Understand protocol intent, value flows, and upgradeability patterns.
- Threat Modeling: Identify attacker types and challenge trust assumptions.
- Attack Surface Mapping: Enumerate critical functions, roles, and external dependencies.
- Invariant Definition: Establish solvency, accounting, access control, and cross-chain invariants.
Deep Exploit & Scenario Development
Duration: varies by tier
- VectorGuard Testing: Apply relevant subsets of the 338 attack vectors to your specific design.
- Fuzzing & Simulation: Stateless/stateful fuzzing and scenario tests for multi-step attacks.
- Economic Analysis: Evaluate profitability and feasibility of attacks including flash loans.
- Exploit Development: Build chain-appropriate PoCs (fork-based when possible) to validate impact.
Evidence, Reporting & Pre-Audit Hardening
Duration: varies by tier
- Finding Documentation: Structured, exploit-informed findings organized by severity.
- Severity Assessment: Map each issue to business impact and economic consequence.
- Remediation Plan: Prioritized fixes and guidance plus a clear path for retesting.
- Audit Preparation: Deliver a pre-audit package to accelerate formal auditor review.
How It Works
From first contact to formal audit readiness in 9 clear steps.
Reach Out
Use the contact form below or email us at pavon@vectorguardlabs.com. Provide your GitHub repo link so we can assess scope, protocol type, and risk profile.
Receive Your Quote
Within 24–48 hours, you'll receive a detailed quote and timeline based on your protocol's complexity, codebase size, attack surface, and chain ecosystem.
Sign Agreements
Review and sign our service agreement and NDA to protect your intellectual property.
Make Payment
VectorGuard Labs accepts Visa/MC/AMEX/DISC and USDC on the BASE blockchain. Payment details will be provided in your invoice after signing.
Assessment Begins
We begin a comprehensive adversarial assessment using the VectorGuard 15-phase framework and 338-vector library tailored to your protocol and chain.
Receive Results
Within the agreed timeframe, you'll receive a comprehensive report bundle covering findings, exploit narratives, PoC artifacts (where possible), and prioritized remediation guidance.
Mitigate Vulnerabilities
Work with your team to implement recommended fixes. Use our findings, invariants, and exploit scripts as a hardening checklist.
Retesting
Submit your fixed codebase for one complimentary retest (additional retests are $3,500 each) to verify remediation effectiveness and check for regressions.
Formal Audit Ready
With vulnerabilities addressed and exploit paths analyzed, your protocol is positioned for a successful formal audit with higher confidence and fewer surprises.
Pricing (USD/USDC)
Select the tier that best matches your protocol's complexity and scope.
Tier 1: Small Protocol
< 2,000 Lines of Code
- Single-chain deployment
- No complex integrations
- Manual code review with invariant testing and PoC-validated findings
- Exploit-backed findings report
- One complimentary retest included
Tier 2: Medium Protocol
2,001 – 5,000 Lines of Code
- Multiple contracts with interactions
- Oracle integrations supported
- Economic attack modeling included
- Fork-based exploit validation
- Integration analysis and economic attack modeling
- One complimentary retest included
Tier 3: Complex Protocol
5,001 – 10,000 Lines of Code
- Multi-chain or L2 deployment
- Heavy DeFi integrations
- Governance + upgradeability analysis
- Cross-chain security review
- Cross-contract analysis, governance review, and cross-chain testing
- One complimentary retest included
Tier 4: Enterprise
10,001+ Lines of Code
- Full-scope engagement — custom requirements
- Dedicated assessment timeline
- Multiple review cycles
- Post-remediation verification included
- Direct communication channel
- Extended support period
Additional Services
Additional Retests
$3,500
First retest included free. Additional retests include fix verification, regression checks, and updated report.
Payment Methods
VISA/MC/AMEX/DISC or USDC on BASE
Payment details provided in your invoice after signing.
Frequently Asked Questions
VectorGuard Labs provides an adversarial pre-audit assessment. We behave like attackers: we threat model, define invariants, fuzz, simulate, and (where possible) build exploit PoCs on forks. Formal audits are typically compliance and assurance artifacts that happen after you've hardened your code. Our job is to prepare you so audit firms find fewer issues and you have stronger evidence of security.
You'll receive a professional, adversarial security assessment focused on identifying real, exploitable risks. Depending on the engagement scope, this includes structured attack-surface analysis, systematic testing using VectorGuard Labs' methodology, clear findings with severity and impact explanations, and concrete remediation guidance. Where exploitation is realistically demonstrable, findings are supported with technical evidence to validate risk.
VectorGuard Labs performs security assessments on Solidity, Vyper, Rust, Cairo, and Move smart contracts across EVM chains and other ecosystems. The 15-phase framework adapts to each stack using the strongest available validation method on that chain (forks, localnets, test-validators, or execution traces).
We need your smart contract source code. That's it. No test files, no documentation, etc. We can work with private GitHub repos or secure file transfers. Like attackers, we won't read your documentation, tokenomics, or whitepapers.
We sign comprehensive NDAs before accessing any code and maintain strict confidentiality protocols. Your code is stored in encrypted, access-controlled environments and is deleted after engagement completion. Our role is to help you harden and protect your codebase, not to reuse or disclose your intellectual property.
Tier 1 (Small Protocol) assessments typically complete within 1–2 weeks. Tier 2 (Medium Protocol) takes 2–3 weeks. Tier 3 (Complex Protocol) requires 3–5 weeks. Tier 4 (Enterprise) timelines are custom-scoped based on complexity. All timelines include detailed reports highlighting vulnerabilities, attack scenarios, and recommended fixes.
No. The VectorGuard attack vectors represent a comprehensive threat model, not a checklist applied blindly. Your protocol is first analyzed to determine which vectors are actually relevant to its architecture, assets, and integrations. We then apply the applicable vectors rigorously and go deep on the areas that present the highest real-world exploit risk.
No security assessment can guarantee that all vulnerabilities are eliminated. What we provide is structured, adversarial, evidence-backed testing using the VectorGuard framework. Our goal is to dramatically reduce your risk, uncover realistic attack paths, and prepare you for formal audits — not to promise absolute immunity from future exploits.
No. VectorGuard Labs strongly recommends proceeding to a formal third-party audit before mainnet deployment. Our pre-audit assessment is designed to prepare you for a successful formal audit. Treat our work as a high-value, adversarial pre-stage — not a replacement.
Tier 1 is ideal for simple, single-contract protocols. Tier 2 fits protocols with multiple interacting contracts or oracle dependencies. Tier 3 is for complex systems with multi-chain deployment or governance mechanics. Tier 4 is for enterprise-grade infrastructure requiring dedicated timelines. Not sure? Reach out with your repo link and we'll recommend the appropriate tier.
VectorGuard Labs accepts VISA/MC/AMEX/DISC and USDC on the BASE blockchain. Payment details will be provided in your invoice after signing the service agreement.
Get in Touch
Ready to start? Have questions? Tell us what's on your mind.