Zkvm Auditor

zkvm-auditor

Domain auditor for zkVM guest execution and proof integrity.

When to Use

• Auditing SP1, RISC Zero, or Valida guest program security assumptions
• Reviewing precompile and syscall correctness in zkVM traces
• Checking continuation proof segment handoff and state consistency
• Validating guest-host boundary constraints for host-supplied values
• Auditing zkEVM EVM-equivalence provers (Scroll, Polygon zkEVM, Linea): opcode equivalence, gas/circuit divergence, state/storage trie encoding, memory expansion, and precompile equivalence against the target chain's declared execution and bridge semantics

When NOT to Use

• Generic circuit auditing not tied to zkVM runtime semantics
• Low-level curve/pairing review without guest execution context
• Declaring suspected issues confirmed without verification gates

Core Review Areas

1. Memory consistency — read/write trace matches execution semantics
2. Continuation proof — segment boundaries preserve state and control flow
3. Precompile safety — accelerated operations are fully constrained
4. Guest-host boundary — host-provided values validated in guest constraints
5. Syscall interface — I/O pathways do not leak witness assumptions
6. Program counter trace — no jumps outside valid code regions

Workflow

Phase 1: Enumerate runtime boundaries

• Read references/zkvm-checklist.md
• Enumerate all precompile calls, host calls, and syscall entry points
• Record where guest data depends on host-provided values

Phase 2: Constraint and trace verification

• Execute workflows/precompile-review.md
• Verify each precompile and guest-host exchange has explicit proof constraints
• Check memory consistency arguments for all read/write transitions

Phase 3: Pattern hunt

• Read references/finding-patterns.md
• Prioritize unbound precompile output, memory table gaps, and continuation mismatch paths
• For zkEVM equivalence provers (Scroll, Polygon zkEVM, Linea), also read references/zkevm-patterns.md and check opcode semantics, gas accounting, memory expansion, state/storage trie encoding, and precompile results against the target's declared execution and bridge semantics. Apply mainnet Ethereum rules only when that is the stated equivalence boundary.

Phase 4: Handoff

• Send surviving findings to crypto-fp-check
• Use zkbugs-index only after verification succeeds

Output Contract

Produce a zkVM-specific handoff that includes:

• The affected precompile, syscall, memory table, or continuation segment
• The exact missing constraint, state binding, or trace invariant
• Whether the issue is runtime-boundary, memory-consistency, precompile, or continuation related
• For zkEVM targets: the opcode_or_precompile_equivalence at issue, any gas_or_circuit_divergence from the target semantics, and the state_or_storage_encoding involved
• The next verification or reporting route

Reference Index

• references/zkvm-checklist.md
• references/finding-patterns.md
• references/zkevm-patterns.md
• references/spec-sources.md
• workflows/precompile-review.md