🏃Tutorial 1: Front-Running

Author of tutorial series: Omar Inuwa https://twitter.com/OmarInuwa1

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Introduction

Front Running In Smart Contracts: An Auditor's Guide. This is an in-depth, technical tutorial designed to equip blockchain auditors and beginners with the knowledge and skills necessary to identify and mitigate front-running vulnerabilities in smart contracts. Drawing on real-world examples and proven strategies, this tutorial serves as a comprehensive resource for understanding, identifying, and addressing this often overlooked yet potentially critical security issue.

Smart contracts have revolutionized the way transactions take place in the blockchain ecosystem by providing trustless and automated solutions. However, as we delve deeper into this innovative technology, we encounter certain security concerns, among which front running holds a notable position.

In the context of blockchain and smart contracts, front running involves an entity capitalizing on the pending state of a transaction to their own advantage, by strategically placing transactions in a block for benefit, a practice that can be executed by both miners and regular users. The subtlety of front running often causes it to go unnoticed, leading to significant security vulnerabilities in smart contract platforms. This issue has a personal resonance, having netted me $22,500 from front running bug bounties alone.

Such earnings underscore that front running vulnerabilities are often missed in audits, necessitating a focused exploration of this issue. This tutorial's objective is to scrutinize front running in smart contracts—understanding its mechanics, highlighting its manifestations, and discussing mitigation techniques. By enhancing our collective comprehension of front running, we can refine auditing processes, strengthen the security fabric of smart contract platforms, and reduce the oversight of such crucial vulnerabilities.