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Shadow Arena

Audit Real Protocols. Find Real Bugs.

Review actual DeFi protocols that went through public security contests. Submit findings, get scored against known vulnerabilities, and learn what you missed.

1. Start Your Audit

Choose a protocol, read the docs, and begin your individual timer. Review the codebase and hunt for vulnerabilities.

2. Submit Findings

Report vulnerabilities one by one using structured templates. Include severity, affected code, impact, and your recommended fix.

3. Learn from Results

After your timer expires, see how your findings compare to actual contest results. Learn what you missed and why.

Scoring

Earn Points (True Positives)

Critical+100
High+75
Medium+50
Low+20
Informational+5

Same root cause counts as one finding. Duplicates score 0.

False Positive Penalties (Progressive)

FP #1 to #3Free. You're learning.
0
FP #4 to #6Mild penalty.
-5
FP #7 to #10Getting costly.
-15
FP #11+Heavy. Stop spraying.
-50

A few wrong guesses are fine. Spamming findings to game the system is not.

Has your protocol been audited?

Get a free community re-audit of the same commit hash your auditors reviewed. Hundreds of builders will review your codebase as part of their learning, and you get fresh eyes on your protocol at zero cost. All you need to do is share your code for educational use.

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Available Shadow Audits

DEX/AMMIntermediate

Shadow Arena #001: Basin

Composable DEX with ConstantProduct2 (x * y = k). 10 files, 1,145 SLOC. Find the 14 vulnerabilities discovered in a $40k public contest.

14 findings7 daysPublic leaderboard
DEX/AMMBeginner

Shadow Arena #002: ElasticSwap

First AMM for elastic supply (rebasing) tokens. x * y = k with a twist. 3 contracts, 739 SLOC. Can you spot where the math breaks?

3 findings2 daysPublic leaderboard
DEX/AMMAdvanced

Shadow Arena #003: Velodrome Finance

Solidly fork (ve(3,3) AMM) on Optimism. Familiar Uniswap V2 core with novel gauge/bribe/voting extensions. 8 contracts, 1,914 SLOC. The AMM is clean. The bugs are in the extensions.

13 findings4 daysPublic leaderboard
LendingBeginner

Shadow Arena #004: Flux Finance

Compound V2 fork with KYC/sanctions and a CASH token system. 11 contracts, ~4,365 SLOC. Lending mechanics forked from cDAI plus novel cash management layer.

6 findings2 daysPublic leaderboard
LendingIntermediate

Shadow Arena #005: Canto v2 Lending

Compound V2 fork with algorithmic stablecoin (cNote) and custom interest rate model. The bugs are almost a syllabus for what goes wrong when you fork Compound. 6H + 4M in scope.

10 findings4 daysPublic leaderboard
LendingAdvanced

Shadow Arena #006: Venus Isolated Pools

Largest lending protocol on BSC. Compound V2 fork with isolated pools and bad debt auctions. The classic block-time interest rate bug lives here. 28 contracts, 3,549 SLOC.

17 findings7 daysPublic leaderboard
VaultIntermediate

Shadow Arena #007: Reaper Vaults V2

Yearn V2-style yield aggregator by Reaper Farm, audited as part of the Ethos Reserve contest. Vault + strategy chain with locked-profit degradation, gain/loss reporting, and Granary/Aave integrations. 5 representative findings (3 H + 2 M).

5 findings4 daysPublic leaderboard
VaultIntermediate

Shadow Arena #008: Yearn yBOLD

Yearn's own product on Liquity V2. Multi-strategy BOLD allocator across three Stability Pools with collateral auction recovery. 3 surgical findings (2 H + 1 M), each mapping to one Yearn V2 Build section.

3 findings4 daysPublic leaderboard
VaultAdvanced

Shadow Arena #009: Popcorn Protocol

Multi-vault factory built on Yearn V2 patterns. Factory deploys per-asset vaults with adapter strategies and a fee module. The bugs cluster around factory cloning, fee config, and adapter accounting. 6 findings (3 H + 3 M).

6 findings7 daysPublic leaderboard
VaultAdvanced

Shadow Arena #010: Tokemak v2

Sibling architecture to Yearn V2: Autopilot Vaults (LMP) plus Destination Vaults across Curve, Balancer, Maverick. Not a fork, the team re-derived many V2 patterns from scratch. The graduation audit. 6 findings (4 H + 2 M).

6 findings7 daysPublic leaderboard

Prepare with the Build Modules

Build the protocol first, then audit its forks. Uniswap V2 prepares you for the AMM audits (Basin, ElasticSwap, Velodrome). Compound V2 prepares you for the lending audits (Flux, Canto, Venus). Yearn V2 prepares you for the vault audits (Reaper, yBOLD, Popcorn, Tokemak).

Build Uniswap V2 Build Compound V2 Build Yearn V2

Common Questions

What is a shadow audit?
A shadow audit is reviewing a real protocol from a past public security contest on your own. You analyze the code, find vulnerabilities, and submit findings, then compare your results against what professional auditors actually found.
How is scoring calculated?
Your submissions are matched against the known findings from the original contest. Matches are based on affected files, functions, severity, and description overlap. True Positives earn points (Critical: +100, High: +75, Medium: +50, Low: +20, Informational: +5). The first 3 False Positives are free, then progressive penalties apply.
How long do I have?
Each audit has its own timer: 2 days (ElasticSwap, Flux Finance), 4 days (Velodrome, Canto v2, Reaper Vaults V2, yBOLD), or 7 days (Basin, Venus, Popcorn, Tokemak v2). The timer starts when you click Begin and is individual to you. When time runs out, your findings are automatically scored.
Do I need to complete the Build module first?
No, but it helps significantly. The AMM audits (Basin, ElasticSwap, Velodrome) connect to the Uniswap V2 Build module. The lending audits (Flux, Canto, Venus) connect to the Compound V2 Build module. The vault audits (Reaper, yBOLD, Popcorn, Tokemak) connect to the Yearn V2 Build module. Building the protocol first gives you the context to spot fork-specific deviations.
Which audit should I start with?
For AMM: ElasticSwap (2 days, 3 findings) is the easiest. For lending: Flux Finance (2 days, 6 findings). For vaults: yBOLD (4 days, 3 surgical findings) is the cleanest mapping to the Yearn V2 Build module. Canto v2, Reaper, and Velodrome are strong intermediate picks. Venus, Basin, Popcorn, and Tokemak v2 are the most advanced.