{"title":"Dynamic information utilization for securing Ethereum smart contracts: A literature review","authors":"Tianyuan Hu , Bixin Li","doi":"10.1016/j.infsof.2025.107719","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Smart contracts, self-executing programs that govern digital assets on blockchain platforms, have gained widespread adoption due to their automation and transparency. However, vulnerabilities in smart contracts can lead to financial losses and reputational damage, making their security a critical concern. Static code auditing methods are prone to false positives and false negatives, as they fail to account for real-time execution conditions. The integration of dynamic information offers a promising avenue for addressing these limitations and enhancing smart contract security. Ethereum, the most widely used blockchain platform, provides a wealth of publicly available data and has attracted significant attention from researchers due to its security problems. This paper presents a systematic mapping study focused on Ethereum, reviewing the existing literature on the use of dynamic information for enhancing the security of smart contracts. It offers a comprehensive overview of security problems, dynamic information types, technical approaches, and validation methods. Furthermore, we examine the implications and limitations of current research and propose future directions for further exploration in the field of Ethereum smart contract protection.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":54983,"journal":{"name":"Information and Software Technology","volume":"182 ","pages":"Article 107719"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8000,"publicationDate":"2025-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Information and Software Technology","FirstCategoryId":"94","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0950584925000588","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"计算机科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"COMPUTER SCIENCE, INFORMATION SYSTEMS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Smart contracts, self-executing programs that govern digital assets on blockchain platforms, have gained widespread adoption due to their automation and transparency. However, vulnerabilities in smart contracts can lead to financial losses and reputational damage, making their security a critical concern. Static code auditing methods are prone to false positives and false negatives, as they fail to account for real-time execution conditions. The integration of dynamic information offers a promising avenue for addressing these limitations and enhancing smart contract security. Ethereum, the most widely used blockchain platform, provides a wealth of publicly available data and has attracted significant attention from researchers due to its security problems. This paper presents a systematic mapping study focused on Ethereum, reviewing the existing literature on the use of dynamic information for enhancing the security of smart contracts. It offers a comprehensive overview of security problems, dynamic information types, technical approaches, and validation methods. Furthermore, we examine the implications and limitations of current research and propose future directions for further exploration in the field of Ethereum smart contract protection.
期刊介绍:
Information and Software Technology is the international archival journal focusing on research and experience that contributes to the improvement of software development practices. The journal''s scope includes methods and techniques to better engineer software and manage its development. Articles submitted for review should have a clear component of software engineering or address ways to improve the engineering and management of software development. Areas covered by the journal include:
• Software management, quality and metrics,
• Software processes,
• Software architecture, modelling, specification, design and programming
• Functional and non-functional software requirements
• Software testing and verification & validation
• Empirical studies of all aspects of engineering and managing software development
Short Communications is a new section dedicated to short papers addressing new ideas, controversial opinions, "Negative" results and much more. Read the Guide for authors for more information.
The journal encourages and welcomes submissions of systematic literature studies (reviews and maps) within the scope of the journal. Information and Software Technology is the premiere outlet for systematic literature studies in software engineering.