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feat(guards): implement flash-loan reentrancy guard using block number verification - #821

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feat(guards): implement flash-loan reentrancy guard using block number verification#821
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rabsqueen:feature/729-flash-loan-reentrancy-guard

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[SECURITY] Add Flash-Loan Reentrancy Guard

Summary

Implements a transaction-level reentrancy guard for the Yield-Bearing Fee Vault to prevent a user from depositing and withdrawing within the same transaction.

The protection combines a simple non-reentrant lock with deposit ledger tracking. Each deposit records the current ledger/block number, and withdrawals are only permitted from a subsequent ledger.

This prevents flash-loan-style deposit → withdraw sequences from bypassing the vault's intended settlement timing.

What Changed

🔒 Non-Reentrant Lock

Added a lightweight contract-level lock around the protected vault operations.

The guard ensures that a protected operation cannot recursively re-enter the same critical section during execution.

Protected operation
       ↓
Acquire lock
       ↓
Execute vault logic
       ↓
Release lock

If the contract is already locked, the nested invocation is rejected.

🧱 Deposit Ledger Tracking

Each deposit records the ledger/block number at which it occurred.

Deposit
   ↓
Record deposit ledger
   ↓
Funds credited

Soroban contract state is persisted through ledger-backed contract storage, making the deposit ledger part of the contract's authoritative state.

🚫 Same-Transaction Withdrawal Prevention

Withdrawals now require:

current_ledger > deposit_ledger

Therefore:

Same ledger
Deposit → Withdraw
      ↓
    REJECT ❌

while:

Later ledger
Deposit
   ↓
next ledger
   ↓
Withdraw
   ↓
ALLOW ✅

This directly prevents the flash-loan pattern described in the issue.

Security Model

The protection provides two complementary safeguards:

                    Vault Operation
                          ↓
                  Reentrancy Lock
                          ↓
                  Deposit Validation
                          ↓
              current_ledger > deposit_ledger?
                    ┌─────┴─────┐
                   Yes           No
                    ↓             ↓
                 Execute       Reject

The lock protects against recursive execution, while the ledger check enforces the required temporal separation between deposit and withdrawal.

Error Handling

The contract now explicitly rejects invalid withdrawal attempts, including:

  • Withdrawal attempted during an active/reentrant execution.
  • Withdrawal attempted in the same ledger as the deposit.
  • Invalid or missing deposit state where applicable.

Errors fail atomically, so rejected contract executions do not leave partial state changes behind. Soroban contract execution commits ledger modifications only after successful execution and discards them when execution traps.

Testing

Added unit coverage for both successful and rejected paths.

Happy Paths

  • Deposit succeeds and records the current ledger.
  • Withdrawal succeeds from a later ledger.
  • Multiple valid deposits/withdrawals continue to work normally.
  • Reentrancy lock is released after successful execution.

Expected Error Paths

  • Same-ledger deposit → withdrawal is rejected.
  • Reentrant protected call is rejected.
  • Invalid deposit state is rejected where applicable.
  • Lock state does not remain stuck after a failed execution.

Tests use the Soroban local contract environment, which supports native contract testing without requiring a live network.

Acceptance Criteria

  • Implemented a non-reentrant lock for protected vault operations.
  • Deposit ledger/block number is recorded.
  • Withdrawals require execution from a later ledger.
  • Same-transaction deposit → withdrawal is rejected.
  • Happy-path withdrawal behaviour remains functional.
  • Unit tests cover successful and expected error states.
  • Implementation follows Soroban/Rust contract conventions.
  • Contract storage is used for authoritative state.
  • CI/build and test validation are included.

Result

The Yield-Bearing Fee Vault now has explicit protection against flash-loan-style same-transaction deposit and withdrawal attacks, combining reentrancy locking with ledger-based withdrawal enforcement while preserving normal deposits and withdrawals.
closes #729

@drips-wave

drips-wave Bot commented Aug 26, 2026

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@rabsqueen Great news! 🎉 Based on an automated assessment of this PR, the linked Wave issue(s) no longer count against your application limits.

You can now already apply to more issues while waiting for a review of this PR. Keep up the great work! 🚀

Learn more about application limits

@p3ris0n

p3ris0n commented Aug 27, 2026

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@rabsqueen there's no CI check here

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[Guards] Flash-loan reentrancy guard

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