How to use it
Open Key works and filter by the primitive you are building on.
Read one or two past reports closest to your system: scope, depth and how findings are written.
Shortlist two or three firms and compare them side by side.
Firms
atsec information security
Vendors of cryptographic modules (HSMs, TEEs, OS crypto libraries, network appliances) that need FIPS 140-3 validation, algorithm testing, SP 800-90B entropy assessment or Common Criteria certification.
Pricing tier 3 of 4: $$$$6 key worksHigh confidenceDetailsClose
Accredited evaluation lab for FIPS 140-3 (CMVP), cryptographic algorithm and entropy-source testing, and Common Criteria.
Strengths
- Large FIPS track record (its site links to 577 certificates)
- Named as testing lab on NIST CMVP certificates for major vendors (Qualcomm, F5)
- FIPS 140-3, algorithm testing, entropy-source assessment and Common Criteria under one roof
- Offices in Austin, Munich, Stockholm, Rome and Beijing
Watch-outs
- Conformance testing, not adversarial cryptanalysis or protocol design review
- Timelines depend on NIST CMVP queues outside the lab's control
- Not relevant for ZK, MPC or smart-contract projects
Key works
- 2024
First ML-KEM and ML-DSA algorithm testing via NIST ACVTSLandmark
atsec reports running the first ML-KEM/ML-DSA CAVP tests hours after NIST opened ACVTS in Aug 2024.
- Post-quantum
- Cryptographic libraries
Certification - 2025
CMUF feedback coordination for ISO/IEC 19790:2025 and 24759:2025 · CMUF / ISO/IEC JTC1/SC27 WG3
atsec hosted CMUF, co-led its FIPS 140-3 working group and coordinated feedback to SC27 on the 2025 standards.
- Key management & HSM
- Cryptographic libraries
Standard / spec - 2024
Qualcomm TEE Software Cryptographic Library, FIPS 140-3 cert #4809 · Qualcomm Technologies
FIPS 140-3 validation of a TEE crypto library (AES, ECDSA, RSA, DRBG) tested by atsec as the accredited lab.
- Cryptographic libraries
- Key management & HSM
Certification - 2024
F5OS-A Cryptographic Module, FIPS 140-3 cert #4883 · F5
Level 2 FIPS 140-3 validation of a network appliance crypto module; atsec listed as testing lab.
- Cryptographic libraries
- TLS & secure channels
Certification - 2019
Jitter RNG with SP 800-90B compliance
CPU-jitter entropy source by atsec colleague Stephan Mueller; atsec announced its SP 800-90B-compliant release in 2019.
- Randomness
- Cryptographic libraries
Tool - 2018
ACVP Proxy client for NIST algorithm testing
Open-source C client for fetching ACVP test vectors and submitting results; developed by atsec, hosted on a staff GitHub account.
- Cryptographic libraries
Tool
- Website
- atsec.de
- Type
- Certification lab
- Headquarters
- Austin, United States & Munich, Germany (no single HQ stated)
- Founded
- 2000
- Size
- 201-1000 people
- Typical engagement
- FIPS 140-3 projects span months including the NIST CMVP queue; algorithm and entropy assessments are shorter.
- Public reports
- atsec.de
- Europe
- European offices in Munich (Germany), Stockholm (Sweden) and Rome (Italy).
Specialties
- FIPS 140-3 / CC certification
- Implementation audit
Languages reviewed
- C/C++
- Assembly
- Java
Sources · verified November 2026
Anchor: #ca-atsec
ChainSecurity
EVM projects based in or selling to Europe whose scope mixes contracts with Plonky2 circuits or validator DKG tooling, and that want a Swiss auditor — not a first choice for pure cryptography reviews.
Pricing tier 3 of 4: $$$$6 key worksMedium confidenceDetailsClose
ETH Zurich spin-off focused on smart-contract and protocol audits, with a small but real body of ZK-circuit (Plonky2) and DKG-tool audit work.
Strengths
- Large public archive: 430 reports since 2017, per its site
- Some ZK-circuit (Intmax Plonky2) and DKG-tool audit experience with public PDFs
- Swiss base and ETH Zurich academic roots
Watch-outs
- Cryptography is a minor share of public work; mostly smart-contract audits
- No public reviews of standalone crypto libraries, PQC or hardware found
- Site lists Decentralized Security AG (Zurich) as the entity; ChainSecurity was acquired by PwC Switzerland in 2020 — confirm the current contracting entity
Key works
- 2025
Intmax 2 ZKP circuits code assessment · IntmaxLandmark
Soundness review of recursive Plonky2 rollup circuits (balance, validity, withdrawal); 7 criticals found and fixed.
- ZK proofs
Audit - 2023
Herodotus CairoLib (MPT, MMR, Keccak) assessment · HerodotusLandmark
Storage-proof primitives in Cairo; a critical MPT verify bug let forged keys pass. Useful for proof-of-state builders.
- Hashing & commitments
- Bridges & light clients
- Cryptographic libraries
Audit - 2024
Plonky2 BN254 scalar-multiplication and Keccak256 circuits · Intmax
Gadget-level review of non-native curve and Keccak circuits with cross-table lookups; 3 criticals fixed.
- ZK proofs
- Hashing & commitments
- Cryptographic libraries
Audit - 2024
SSV-DKG tool limited code review · SSV Labs
DKG tooling for distributed validators: missing result-signature check, TLS default, PKCS#1 v1.5 share encryption.
- MPC / threshold signatures
- Key management & HSM
- TLS & secure channels
Audit - 2023
Herodotus on Starknet storage-proof contracts · Herodotus
L1-to-Starknet header and fact registry review; an MMR flaw let proofs verify against inner nodes.
- Hashing & commitments
- Bridges & light clients
Audit - 2023
Chronicle Scribe Schnorr-aggregation oracle · Chronicle
On-chain secp256k1 Schnorr multi-signature verification for oracles (scheme design itself out of scope).
- Signatures
- Smart-contract cryptography
Audit
- Website
- chainsecurity.com
- Type
- Blockchain & smart-contract auditor
- Headquarters
- Zurich, Switzerland
- Founded
- 2017
- Size
- 1-50 people
- Typical engagement
- Fixed-scope smart-contract audits of weeks; repeat audits for large DeFi and stablecoin clients.
- Public reports
- chainsecurity.com
- Europe
- Headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland (Thurgauerstrasse 40).
Specialties
- Smart contracts
- Zero-knowledge proofs
- MPC / threshold signatures
Languages reviewed
- Solidity
- Vyper
- Rust
- Go
Sources · verified November 2026
Anchor: #ca-chainsecurity
Cure53
Wallets, privacy and E2EE apps, and JS/TS, Rust or C++ crypto libraries (MPC, Shamir secret sharing, curve libraries) that want crypto review plus the surrounding app, extension and infra attack surface in one time-boxed engagement.
Pricing tier 2 of 4: $$$$10 key worksHigh confidenceDetailsClose
Berlin security firm that publishes a large library of reports, including audits of cryptographic libraries (noble, ed25519, Monocypher), MPC/threshold code and end-to-end-encrypted apps alongside web and app pentests.
Strengths
- Large public report library with many crypto-specific audits: MPC (Coinbase cb-mpc), ECDSA (Silence Labs), Shamir SSS (Privy), ed25519 and secp256k1 libraries, NIP-44
- Recent crypto-library work for Coinbase cb-mpc and the widely used noble libraries
- Can cover crypto together with app, browser-extension and infrastructure testing
- Clients routinely publish the reports, so buyers can read past findings
Watch-outs
- Primarily a web/app security firm; little public work on ZK circuits or proof systems
- Short time-boxed engagements may limit depth on novel protocol design
- Some engagements are published only as summary reports
Key works
- 2024
noble-ciphers and noble-curves libraries audit · Paul MillerLandmark
Audit of the dependency-free JS crypto libraries (incl. bn254) that many wallets and web apps depend on.
- Cryptographic libraries
- Signatures
Audit - 2020
rustls TLS library security review · CNCFLandmark
Review of rustls and its ring and webpki dependencies, a memory-safe TLS stack used widely in Rust.
- TLS & secure channels
- Cryptographic libraries
Audit - 2025
cb-mpc MPC cryptography library audit · Coinbase
Crypto review of Coinbase's C++ MPC and ZK-proof library cb-mpc; tested Nov-Dec 2024, report dated March 2025.
- MPC / threshold signatures
- ZK proofs
- Cryptographic libraries
Audit - 2024
ExpressVPN Lightway protocol audit · ExpressVPN
Review of a Rust VPN protocol built on wolfSSL bindings; a template for secure-channel protocol audits.
- TLS & secure channels
Audit - 2024
Nym apps, VPN and cryptography audit (Sphinx, zk-nym, offline eCash) · Nym Technologies
Covers mixnet Sphinx packets and Coconut-based anonymous credentials alongside app pentests.
- ZK proofs
- Messaging & E2EE
- Signatures
Audit - 2023
NIP44 encryption spec and implementations audit · Paul Miller
Spec review plus JS, Go and Rust code audits of Nostr's NIP-44 message-encryption scheme.
- Messaging & E2EE
- Cryptographic libraries
Audit - 2023
Ente cryptography design and code review · Ente Technologies
White-box review of an end-to-end encrypted photo storage design and its clients.
- Messaging & E2EE
- Key management & HSM
Audit - 2023
Privy Shamir secret sharing library audit · Horkos, Inc. (Privy)
Focused crypto review of Privy's TypeScript Shamir secret-sharing library for splitting keys among parties.
- Key management & HSM
- Cryptographic libraries
Audit - 2020
RNP OpenPGP library and Thunderbird integration audit · Mozilla (MOSS)
Audit of the OpenPGP library Thunderbird adopted for built-in email encryption.
- Messaging & E2EE
- Cryptographic libraries
Audit - 2020
Monocypher crypto library audit · Monocypher maintainer (funded by Open Technology Fund)
White-box audit of Monocypher 3.1.1, a small portable C crypto library, incl. its optional Ed25519 module.
- Cryptographic libraries
- Signatures
Audit
- Website
- cure53.de
- Type
- Security research firm with crypto practice
- Headquarters
- Berlin, Germany
- Founded
- 2007
- Size
- 1-50 people
- Typical engagement
- Time-boxed, fixed-day audits with published (sometimes summary) reports; Ente's crypto design and code audit ran nine days, while Nym's multi-package review ran 56 working days with six testers.
- Public reports
- cure53.de
- Europe
- Headquartered in Berlin, Germany.
Specialties
- Implementation audit
- Protocol design review
- MPC / threshold signatures
- Wallets & key management
Languages reviewed
- TypeScript
- JavaScript
- Rust
- C/C++
- Go
- Kotlin
- Swift
Anchor: #ca-cure53
Galois
Organisations that want mathematical proof that production crypto code (AES-GCM, SHA-2, HMAC, DRBG, ECDSA) matches its specification, wired into CI, or long-horizon R&D on MPC, FHE and ZK — rather than a classic pre-launch audit.
Pricing tier 4 of 4: $$$$8 key worksMedium confidenceDetailsClose
R&D firm known for machine-checked verification of cryptographic code (Cryptol/SAW) and for advanced-cryptography research and engineering in ZK, MPC and FHE.
Strengths
- Created Cryptol and SAW, used to prove AWS-LC and s2n code matches its specification
- Proofs can run in CI so they are re-checked on every code change (s2n, AWS-LC-Verification with AWS)
- Deep MPC/ZK/FHE research base: DARPA SIEVE (ZK), Swanky (MPC), BASALISC (FHE hardware accelerator)
- Strong fit for high-assurance government and infrastructure buyers
Watch-outs
- Not a classic audit shop; no public audit-report library to compare findings
- Engagements skew to long R&D/verification projects; less suited to a quick pre-launch review
- US offices only (Portland, Arlington, Minneapolis, Dayton); no European presence found
Key works
- 2021
Verified Cryptographic Code for Everybody: SAW proofs of AES-256-GCM and SHA-384 in AWS-LC · AWSLandmark
With AWS (CAV 2021): memory-safety and functional-correctness proofs of AES-256-GCM and SHA-384 C/x86 code in AWS-LC.
- Formal verification
- Cryptographic libraries
Research - 2020
blst BLS12-381 library formal verification · Supranational / Ethereum Foundation / Protocol LabsLandmark
Public Cryptol/SAW specs and proofs for blst, incl. hand-written x86 field arithmetic; README tracks proof coverage.
- Formal verification
- Signatures
- Cryptographic libraries
Audit - 2024
Cheesecloth: proving software vulnerabilities in zero knowledge · DARPA (SIEVE)
Compiles C/C++/Rust into ZK circuits; demonstrated on Heartbleed and an FFmpeg bug.
- ZK proofs
Research - 2021
BASALISC: hardware acceleration for FHE (DARPA DPRIVE) · DARPA
DARPA DPRIVE project (awarded March 2021) with KU Leuven, U. Arkansas and Verilab to build an FHE hardware accelerator.
- FHE
- Side-channel & hardware
Research - 2018
Continuous formal verification of Amazon s2n (HMAC and DRBG) · Amazon
With AWS (CAV 2018): proofs that s2n's HMAC and DRBG match Cryptol specs, re-run automatically as code changes.
- Formal verification
- TLS & secure channels
- Randomness
Research - 2018
swanky: Rust libraries for secure computation
Open-source MPC and ZK building blocks (garbling, Diet Mac'n'Cheese, VOLE-in-the-head) from Galois research.
- MPC / threshold signatures
- ZK proofs
Tool - 2015
SAW (Software Analysis Workbench)
Proves C (LLVM), Java, Rust and x86 code equivalent to Cryptol specs; used for the AWS-LC, s2n and blst proofs.
- Formal verification
- Cryptographic libraries
Tool - 2014
Cryptol specification language for cryptography
Executable spec language used to write reference models of primitives that implementations are proved against.
- Formal verification
- Cryptographic libraries
Tool
- Website
- galois.com
- Type
- Applied cryptography specialist
- Headquarters
- Portland, Oregon, United States
- Founded
- 1999
- Size
- 201-1000 people
- Typical engagement
- Verification and R&D projects measured in months (the AWS-LC AES-GCM/SHA-384 proofs took about six calendar months); often government- or large-enterprise-funded.
Specialties
- Formal verification
- Implementation audit
- Zero-knowledge proofs
- MPC / threshold signatures
- FHE
- Post-quantum
- Side-channel & hardware
Languages reviewed
- C/C++
- Rust
- Haskell
- x86 assembly
- Cryptol
Open-source tools
- Cryptol
- SAW (Software Analysis Workbench)
- Swanky (MPC libraries)
- Diet Mac'n'Cheese (ZK backend)
Sources · verified November 2026
Anchor: #ca-galois
Keysight (Riscure)
Chip, secure-element, HSM and hardware-wallet makers needing side-channel/fault-injection testing of crypto implementations (including ML-DSA) or PSA Certified evaluations.
Pricing tier 4 of 4: $$$$7 key worksMedium confidenceDetailsClose
Riscure, founded in Delft in 2001 and acquired by Keysight in 2024, is a device-security lab and tool vendor for side-channel, fault-injection and certification evaluations, including of post-quantum implementations.
Strengths
- Hands-on side-channel and fault-injection testing; Keysight's lab completed what it calls the first PSA Certified Level 4 evaluation (2025)
- Measured ML-DSA leakage at three protection levels with NXP; Inspector added PQC (Dilithium) testing in 2024
- Combines evaluation services with widely used commercial test tooling
- Long-standing Dutch lab (Delft, since 2001)
Watch-outs
- Hardware/device focus; not suited to protocol, ZK or smart-contract review
- Client reports are confidential; little public evidence to compare depth
- Now part of a large test-and-measurement corporation; procurement can be heavier
Key works
- 2025
SiXG301 Series 3 Secure Vault, PSA Certified Level 4 evaluation · Silicon LabsLandmark
Announced as the first PSA Certified Level 4 evaluation; included side-channel and fault-injection testing of Secure Vault.
- Side-channel & hardware
- Key management & HSM
Certification - 2016
Bypassing secure boot using fault injection (Black Hat EU 2016)Landmark
Riscure talk (Timmers, Spruyt) showing voltage glitching can skip signature checks in Cortex-A9 secure boot; covers countermeasures.
- Side-channel & hardware
- Signatures
Research - 2025
ML-DSA side-channel countermeasure evaluation · NXP Semiconductors
Press item: leakage tests of NXP's ML-DSA signing in three configurations (unprotected and two countermeasure levels).
- Post-quantum
- Side-channel & hardware
- Signatures
Research - 2023
SN200 secure element with crypto library, CC EAL6+ evaluation · NXP Semiconductors
NSCIB EAL6+ certification report (Mar 2023) naming Riscure as evaluation facility for an NXP secure element.
- Side-channel & hardware
- Key management & HSM
- Cryptographic libraries
Certification - 2021
SN220 secure element with crypto library, CC EAL6+ evaluation · NXP Semiconductors
EAL6+ secure-element certification with Riscure as ITSEF; shows smart-card-grade attack testing.
- Side-channel & hardware
- Key management & HSM
- Cryptographic libraries
Certification - 2020
FiSim fault-injection simulator
Open-source Unicorn-based simulator for testing secure-boot code against instruction-skip and corruption faults.
- Side-channel & hardware
Tool - 2016
Jlsca side-channel analysis toolkit
Open-source Julia toolkit for CPA, LRA and MIA attacks on AES, DES and SHA-1 (HMAC), incl. white-box models.
- Side-channel & hardware
- Cryptographic libraries
Tool
- Website
- keysight.com
- Type
- Hardware & side-channel lab
- Headquarters
- Delft, Netherlands (Riscure lab; part of Keysight Technologies)
- Founded
- 2001
- Size
- 201-1000 people
- Typical engagement
- Lab evaluations and certification projects of weeks to months; test tooling (Inspector) sold separately.
- Europe
- Riscure lab based in Delft, Netherlands.
Specialties
- Side-channel & hardware
- Post-quantum
- FIPS 140-3 / CC certification
- Implementation audit
Languages reviewed
- C/C++
- Assembly
- Hardware/RTL
Sources · verified November 2026
Anchor: #ca-keysight-riscure
Kudelski Security
Custody, wallet and validator teams that need a review of a threshold ECDSA/EdDSA (MPC) or DKG library, or of a novel scheme such as timelock encryption, from a European firm with in-house cryptographers.
Pricing tier 3 of 4: $$$$9 key worksHigh confidenceDetailsClose
Cybersecurity division of the Swiss Kudelski Group with a long-standing cryptography team that publishes code reviews of threshold-signature (CGGMP, GG18/20, FROST) libraries, timelock encryption and blockchain systems.
Strengths
- Repeated public work on threshold-signature libraries: ING ecdsa-mpc (2021), AMIS CGGMP/FROST (2022); its archive also lists Lit Protocol FROST, Uniwire TSS and Ava Labs threshold-signature reviews
- Cryptographers teach crypto code auditing publicly (NIST CSRC talk 'A Hitchhiker's Guide to Cryptography Code Audit', Jan 2024; Eurocrypt 2024 affiliated workshop)
- Public blockchain report archive of about 120 reports with service and language filters
- Swiss headquarters with offices across Europe, the US and Asia
Watch-outs
- Public archive is weighted toward blockchain code reviews; few public ZK-circuit audits compared with ZK specialists
- Cryptography is a small part of a 400+-person managed-security business; confirm reviewer seniority
- Some archive entries did not open as individual pages when checked; ask for the PDF of any report you want to rely on
Key works
- 2023
Polynonce: a novel ECDSA nonce-recurrence attackLandmark
New attack on polynomially related ECDSA nonces; recovered 773 Bitcoin keys from public chain data (DEF CON 31).
- Signatures
- Randomness
- Wallets
Research - 2019
Binance tss-lib threshold ECDSA security audit · BinanceLandmark
Static audit of Binance's open-source tss-lib threshold ECDSA library: Paillier, range proofs, Schnorr proofs and VSS.
- MPC / threshold signatures
- ZK proofs
- Wallets
Audit - 2023
drand tlock timelock encryption audit · Protocol Labs (drand)
Review of tlock/tlock-js identity-based timelock encryption built on the drand BLS randomness beacon.
- Signatures
- Randomness
- Cryptographic libraries
Audit - 2023
Lattice-free half-half nonce attack on Bitcoin and Ethereum
Adapts Polynonce to half-half nonce generation; recovered 110 Bitcoin private keys and none from Ethereum.
- Signatures
- Randomness
Research - 2023
Polynonce ECDSA attack implementation
Open-source code to test signature sets for related-nonce weaknesses.
- Signatures
- Randomness
Tool - 2022
AMIS HTSS hierarchical threshold signatures audit (CGGMP, FROST) · AMIS Technologies
Audit of Go threshold ECDSA (CGGMP) and threshold EdDSA (FROST) implementations with hierarchical shares.
- MPC / threshold signatures
- Signatures
Audit - 2021
ING ecdsa-mpc threshold signature library audit · ING
Rust threshold-ECDSA review covering hashing, randomness, secret erasure and constant-time behaviour.
- MPC / threshold signatures
- Randomness
- Side-channel & hardware
Audit - 2017
Wire Proteus protocol and Cryptobox security review (with X41 D-Sec) · Wire Swiss
Joint review with X41 D-Sec of Wire's Proteus messaging protocol and Cryptobox, in Rust and CoffeeScript.
- Messaging & E2EE
- Cryptographic libraries
Audit - 2017
CDF: crypto differential fuzzing
Differential testing tool for crypto implementations (correctness, compliance, timing leaks); Black Hat USA 2017.
- Cryptographic libraries
- Side-channel & hardware
Tool
- Website
- kudelskisecurity.com
- Type
- Security research firm with crypto practice
- Headquarters
- Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Switzerland
- Founded
- 2012
- Size
- 201-1000 people
- Typical engagement
- Fixed-scope cryptographic secure code reviews of a few weeks, sold alongside a much larger managed-security and consulting business.
- Public reports
- kudelskisecurity.com
- Europe
- International HQ in Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne (Switzerland) plus offices in Adliswil, Madrid, Paris, Munich and London.
Specialties
- Implementation audit
- Protocol design review
- MPC / threshold signatures
- Smart contracts
- Post-quantum
Languages reviewed
- Rust
- Go
- Solidity
- ink!
Sources · verified November 2026
Anchor: #ca-kudelski-security
Least Authority
Open-source and Web3 teams that need an audit of a cryptographic library or prover — BLS/Ed25519/secp256k1 signature code, gnark/GKR provers, DKG or privacy-protocol cryptography — with a published final report.
Pricing tier 3 of 4: $$$$10 key worksHigh confidenceDetailsClose
Berlin-based, privacy-focused security consultancy with a deep record auditing cryptographic libraries, signature schemes and ZK provers, mostly for open-source and Web3 clients.
Strengths
- Sustained cryptographic-library and prover work: gnark GKR (2024), Linea Limitless Prover (2025), Anza BLS and Ed25519 (2026)
- Publishes final reports with remediation status on a public audits page (about 90 listed, 2020–2026)
- Published the MoonMath Manual to zk-SNARKs (2022)
- German entity (Least Authority TFA GmbH) plus US and Singapore subsidiaries
Watch-outs
- Small team; capacity for large or urgent programmes can be limited
- Little public tooling compared with larger research firms
- Client base is mostly Web3/FOSS; few public enterprise or hardware crypto reviews
Key works
- 2024
Plonky3 STARK toolkit audit · PolygonLandmark
Review of the fields, hashes and polynomial commitments in Plonky3, a toolkit many zkVMs build on.
- ZK proofs
- Hashing & commitments
Audit - 2024
gnark and gnark-crypto audit for the Linea prover (phase 1) · ConsensysLandmark
Covers GKR, sumcheck and polynomial code in gnark, a widely used Go ZK library.
- ZK proofs
- Cryptographic libraries
Audit - 2026
solana-ed25519 library audit · Anza Technology
Recent review of the Ed25519 signature library used across Solana tooling.
- Signatures
- Cryptographic libraries
Audit - 2026
Serai distributed key generation (PVSS) implementation audit · MAGIC Grants
Audit of a DKG built on publicly verifiable secret sharing for a cross-chain DEX's threshold keys.
- MPC / threshold signatures
Audit - 2025
Token-2022 confidential transfer audit · Anza Technology
Review of Solana's ElGamal-based confidential token transfers and their zero-knowledge proofs.
- ZK proofs
- Smart-contract cryptography
Audit - 2025
Linea zkEVM Limitless Prover audit · Consensys
Audit of the distributed prover and compiler components of a production zkEVM.
- ZK proofs
Audit - 2024
World SMPC iris-matching protocol audit (second review) · Tools for Humanity (World)
Audit of a three-node secure multi-party computation protocol matching biometrics against secret-shared data.
- MPC / threshold signatures
Audit - 2023
Safeheron MPC-ECDSA algorithm audit · Safeheron
Threshold-ECDSA review for an MPC custody provider.
- MPC / threshold signatures
- Wallets
Audit - 2023
Mina Pickles recursive zk-SNARK audit · Mina Foundation
Review of the inductive SNARK composition system behind Mina's succinct blockchain.
- ZK proofs
Audit - 2022
Open educational text that builds zk-SNARKs step by step with pen-and-paper examples.
- ZK proofs
Tool
- Website
- leastauthority.com
- Type
- Applied cryptography specialist
- Headquarters
- Berlin, Germany
- Founded
- 2011
- Size
- 1-50 people
- Typical engagement
- Fixed-scope audits ending in a published final report that records remediation status; repeat multi-phase work is common (e.g. several Linea prover phases).
- Public reports
- leastauthority.com
- Europe
- Relocated to Berlin in 2016; operates as Least Authority TFA GmbH (Germany) with a largely remote team.
Specialties
- Implementation audit
- Protocol design review
- Zero-knowledge proofs
- MPC / threshold signatures
- Smart contracts
- Wallets & key management
Languages reviewed
- Rust
- Go
- Solidity
- TypeScript
Open-source tools
- MoonMath Manual (ZK-SNARK educational resource)
Sources · verified November 2026
Anchor: #ca-least-authority
NCC Group (Cryptography Services)
Protocol and enterprise teams that want an established consultancy for a fixed-scope review of a crypto library or protocol (signatures, ZK circuits, MPC) — especially when the same vendor must also cover pentest, hardware or assurance work.
Pricing tier 4 of 4: $$$$9 key worksHigh confidenceDetailsClose
Large listed security consultancy whose Cryptography Services team reviews cryptographic protocols and implementations, from ZK circuits and threshold ECDSA to BLS signature libraries and post-quantum readiness.
Strengths
- Dedicated Cryptography Services team with public reviews spanning ZK circuits (Penumbra R1CS, Zcash Orchard), threshold ECDSA (Qredo/Milagro) and signature libraries (Anza BLS12-381, 2026)
- Reports state scope, commit and effort (consultants, person-days), which helps buyers benchmark proposals
- Can bundle crypto review with pentest, hardware and assurance services from one vendor
- 2025 research report cites Cryptography Services work on post-quantum migration, threshold signatures and secure messaging
Watch-outs
- Large-consultancy procurement and pricing relative to crypto boutiques
- Public output is modest in volume (NCC reports 8 public reports firm-wide for 2025), so fewer recent examples to compare than high-volume ZK boutiques
- Crypto team is one practice inside a ~2,000-person firm; ask which named cryptographers will be staffed
Key works
- 2021
Zcash NU5 (Orchard) cryptography review · Electric Coin Co.Landmark
Spec and code review of Zcash's NU5 (Orchard) upgrade: Pasta curves, RedPallas, note encryption. The Orchard circuit was out of scope.
- Signatures
- Hashing & commitments
- Cryptographic libraries
Audit - 2021
BLST BLS12-381 library cryptographic implementation review · Supranational / Protocol Labs / Ethereum FoundationLandmark
Review of blst's hash-to-curve and BLS signature code, commissioned jointly by Supranational, Protocol Labs and the Ethereum Foundation.
- Signatures
- Cryptographic libraries
- Hashing & commitments
Audit - 2026
BLS12-381 and BLS signature implementation review · Anza Technology
Recent pairing-curve and BLS signature review for Solana; a current example of NCC's curve-arithmetic work.
- Signatures
- Cryptographic libraries
Audit - 2023
Auditable Key Directory (AKD) implementation review · Meta
Review of Meta's open-source key-transparency library behind WhatsApp's key directory; the WhatsApp integration was out of scope.
- Messaging & E2EE
- Hashing & commitments
Audit - 2023
Zcash FROST threshold signature security assessment · Zcash Foundation
Audit of the Rust FROST implementation tracking the IETF CFRG FROST draft; relevant to Schnorr threshold signing.
- MPC / threshold signatures
- Signatures
Audit - 2023
Penumbra R1CS circuits and ZK proofs implementation review · Penumbra Labs
Circuit-level review of R1CS gadgets (decaf377, Poseidon377) in a shielded-transaction chain.
- ZK proofs
Audit - 2021
WhatsApp end-to-end encrypted backups security assessment · WhatsApp
Assessment of the HSM-based key vault behind WhatsApp's end-to-end encrypted backups; 23 issues found in initial testing.
- Key management & HSM
- Messaging & E2EE
Audit - 2020
Apache Milagro MPC threshold ECDSA cryptographic assessment · Qredo
Early public review of an MPC library implementing Gennaro-Goldfeder threshold ECDSA (Apache Milagro MPC).
- MPC / threshold signatures
- Signatures
Audit - 2019
Hardware-Backed Heist: extracting ECDSA keys from Qualcomm's TrustZone
Cache side-channel recovered a 256-bit key from Android's hardware keystore; presented at ACM CCS 2019.
- Side-channel & hardware
- Key management & HSM
- Signatures
Research
- Website
- nccgroup.com
- Type
- Security research firm with crypto practice
- Headquarters
- Manchester, United Kingdom
- Founded
- 1999
- Size
- 1001-10000 people
- Typical engagement
- Short, fixed-scope reviews are common in its public reports: Anza BLS (2026) was 2 consultants / 6 person-days; Penumbra R1CS (2023) was 3 consultants / 20 person-days over two weeks. Larger multi-phase programmes are also offered.
- Public reports
- nccgroup.com
- Europe
- UK headquarters (Manchester) with European operations including Fox-IT in the Netherlands. NCC sold its separate Dutch Fox Crypto B.V. unit to CR Group Nordic in March 2025 (EUR 78.5m); the Cryptography Services consulting practice was not part of that sale.
Specialties
- Protocol design review
- Implementation audit
- Zero-knowledge proofs
- MPC / threshold signatures
- Post-quantum
- Side-channel & hardware
- Smart contracts
Languages reviewed
- Rust
- Go
- C/C++
- Java
- OCaml
Sources · verified November 2026
Anchor: #ca-ncc-group-cryptography-services
Nethermind Security
Rollups and zkVM-based apps (SP1, RISC Zero, Noir, Cairo) that want ZK circuit plus verifier audits, optionally with EasyCrypt/Lean formal verification, from a London-based Ethereum core-infrastructure team; also MPC/OPRF-style identity components.
Pricing tier 3 of 4: $$$$8 key worksHigh confidenceDetailsClose
Security arm of Ethereum infrastructure company Nethermind, doing ZK and smart-contract audits plus formal verification of on-chain proof verifiers.
Strengths
- Proved ZKsync's ~1,700-line Yul verifier conforms to a PLONK/plookup specification in EasyCrypt
- ZK audits across Noir, Circom, Cairo, SP1 and RISC Zero (e.g. Lido's SP1 zk-oracle, 2025)
- Cryptographic findings in identity infrastructure, e.g. World ID nullifier review flagged non-constant-time field arithmetic and Lagrange-coefficient checks (2026)
- Parent builds Ethereum client software; London HQ suits European buyers
Watch-outs
- Public report repository has terse file names and no index, making comparison harder
- Formal-verification scope can be partial (ZKsync: soundness, completeness and zero-knowledge not proven)
- Ethereum/Starknet-centric; little enterprise or PQC work
Key works
- 2026
World ID OPRF nullifier (threshold/secret-sharing) review · WorldLandmark
Rust threshold-OPRF nullifier code: Lagrange party-ID checks, constant-time field ops, EdDSA timing, Poseidon2.
- MPC / threshold signatures
- Signatures
- Hashing & commitments
Audit - 2025
Formal verification of the ZKsync PLONK verifier in EasyCrypt · Matter LabsLandmark
With Matter Labs: EasyCrypt proof that ZKsync's production Yul verifier matches a PLONK/plookup honest-verifier model.
- Formal verification
- ZK proofs
- Smart-contract cryptography
Research - 2026
World nullifier contracts security review · World
On-chain side of the World ID nullifier system; flagged a missing BabyJubJub on-curve check.
- Smart-contract cryptography
- Signatures
Audit - 2025
Lido accounting zk-oracle on SP1: circuit and verifier · Lido
zkVM program proving beacon-chain balances; high-severity validator-index manipulation found and fixed.
- ZK proofs
- Bridges & light clients
Audit - 2025
World Chain Priority Blockspace for Humans contracts · World
World ID proof-gated blockspace; found nullifier hashes could be consumed without a valid proof (medium).
- ZK proofs
- Smart-contract cryptography
Audit - 2025
SAMM anonymous multisig Noir circuits audit · Oxorio (SAMM)
Noir circuits for email-based anonymous Safe voting; a reference for Noir and email-proof designs.
- ZK proofs
- Wallets
Audit - 2024
LatticeFold / LatticeFold+ proof-of-concept implementation
Proof-of-concept Rust implementation of Boneh-Chen lattice folding with Ajtai commitments; not reviewed for production use.
- ZK proofs
- Post-quantum
Tool - 2023
risczero-fv: Lean formalisation of RISC Zero circuits
Lean models of Zirgen circuits with constraint-to-spec proofs (decoder, IsZero, OneHot); shows circuit FV method.
- Formal verification
- ZK proofs
Tool
- Website
- nethermind.io
- Type
- Blockchain & smart-contract auditor
- Headquarters
- London, United Kingdom
- Founded
- 2017
- Size
- 51-200 people
- Typical engagement
- Audits of weeks; formal-verification projects of months (ZKsync verifier: about 2.5 months).
- Public reports
- github.com
- Europe
- Headquartered in London, United Kingdom.
Specialties
- Zero-knowledge proofs
- Formal verification
- Smart contracts
- Implementation audit
- MPC / threshold signatures
Languages reviewed
- Solidity
- Yul
- Cairo
- Noir
- Circom
- Rust
- o1js (TypeScript)
Open-source tools
- zksync-verification (EasyCrypt model)
- Clear (Lean framework for Yul)
Sources · verified November 2026
Anchor: #ca-nethermind-security
OpenZeppelin
Rollup and L1/L2 teams that need on-chain verifier and prover review (PLONK/KZG, Fiat-Shamir transcripts) alongside contract audits from one established Web3 firm.
Pricing tier 3 of 4: $$$$8 key worksMedium confidenceDetailsClose
Major smart-contract security firm and library maintainer with a dedicated ZKP practice (launched Dec 2023) reviewing PLONK provers, verifiers and circuits; S&P Global agreed to acquire it in Sept 2026.
Strengths
- Dedicated ZKP practice covering PLONK-style systems, KZG, FRI, Fiat-Shamir and recursive proofs
- Found a critical Fiat-Shamir transcript flaw (proof forgery) in Linea's PLONK verifier (2023 public report)
- Reviewed gnark's PLONK prover for zero-knowledge properties, finding missing blinding of quotient shards (High, resolved; 2024)
- Maintains OpenZeppelin Contracts, the most widely used Solidity library
Watch-outs
- Primarily a smart-contract firm; few public pure-cryptography library audits outside Web3
- S&P Global agreed to acquire OpenZeppelin (announced 17 Sept 2026, subject to closing); it is to run as a standalone unit — confirm contracting terms
- Public research listing shows recent reports only; older ZK reports must be found individually
Key works
- 2024
Linea gnark PLONK prover backend and verifier audit · Linea (Consensys)Landmark
Review of gnark's BN254 PLONK prover and Solidity verifier template; found unblinded quotient shards (high).
- ZK proofs
- Cryptographic libraries
Audit - 2024
OpenZeppelin Contracts cryptography utilitiesLandmark
Widely used Solidity ECDSA, P256, RSA, WebAuthn and Merkle proof code; P256/RSA arrived in v5.1 (2024).
- Signatures
- Smart-contract cryptography
- Cryptographic libraries
Tool - 2025
ZKsync crypto precompile audit (BN254 pairing) · Matter Labs
Review of Boojum circuit gadgets for BN254 field and curve arithmetic; five highs incl. a missing G2 subgroup check.
- ZK proofs
- Cryptographic libraries
Audit - 2025
ZKsync protocol precompiles implementation audit · Matter Labs
Covers ECAdd, ECMul, ECPairing and ModExp precompile logic and circuit definitions in ZKsync; ModExp circuits in full.
- ZK proofs
- Cryptographic libraries
Audit - 2025
ZKsync SSO account recovery circuits audit · Matter Labs / Moonsong Labs
Circom circuits proving a Google-signed JWT (RSA-SHA256) for smart-wallet account recovery; a zkLogin-style reference.
- ZK proofs
- Signatures
- Wallets
Audit - 2024
openzeppelin-crypto Rust crate (Stylus)
Open-source no_std field, curve, EdDSA, Pedersen and Poseidon2 code for Arbitrum Stylus contracts.
- Cryptographic libraries
- Hashing & commitments
- Signatures
Tool - 2023
Linea PLONK verifier contracts audit · Linea (Consensys)
On-chain PLONK verifier review that surfaced one critical issue; useful for teams shipping generated verifiers.
- ZK proofs
- Smart-contract cryptography
Audit - 2022
ECDSA signature malleability advisory (CVE-2022-35961)
Compact EIP-2098 signatures let used signatures be replayed; a lesson in signature-uniqueness assumptions.
- Signatures
- Smart-contract cryptography
Vulnerability disclosure
- Website
- openzeppelin.com
- Type
- Blockchain & smart-contract auditor
- Headquarters
- Not publicly stated (remote team; site entity Zeppelin Group Ltd)
- Founded
- 2015
- Size
- 51-200 people
- Typical engagement
- Multi-week audits with fix review (Linea prover 2024: about four weeks). No first-party rate card; request a scoped quote.
- Public reports
- openzeppelin.com
Specialties
- Smart contracts
- Zero-knowledge proofs
- Protocol design review
- Implementation audit
Languages reviewed
- Solidity
- Cairo
- Circom
- Noir
- Rust
- Leo
- o1js (TypeScript)
- Go
Open-source tools
- OpenZeppelin Contracts
Sources · verified November 2026
Anchor: #ca-openzeppelin
OtterSec
Solana and Move ecosystem teams needing contract plus ZK-adjacent review (confidential tokens, zkLogin-style circuits, threshold signing for bridges) from an ecosystem-trusted auditor.
Pricing tier 3 of 4: $$$$7 key worksMedium confidenceDetailsClose
Blockchain auditor strong in Solana, Sui and Aptos, with public reports on Solana's ZK token SDK, Sui zkLogin circuits and WSTS threshold signatures.
Strengths
- Deep Solana/Move expertise; states that it maintains the Anchor framework
- Public reports on ZK-adjacent systems (Solana zk-token-sdk, Sui zkLogin, Light Protocol) and WSTS threshold signing
- Named by Solana as one of three firms that reviewed the 2025 ZK ElGamal Proof program fix
- Strong CTF and exploit-research culture
Watch-outs
- Few cryptography-specific research publications compared with applied-crypto boutiques
- Solana's May 2025 post-mortem on a Fiat-Shamir bug in the ZK ElGamal Proof program links OtterSec's 2023 audit of that code — a reminder that audits do not guarantee security
- No stated HQ, founding year or headcount; confirm team staffing
Key works
- 2026
Unfaithful claims: breaking 6 zkVMsLandmark
Fiat-Shamir transcript gaps in Jolt, Nexus, Ceno, Expander, Binius64 and Cairo-M verifiers allowed false proofs.
- ZK proofs
- Hashing & commitments
Vulnerability disclosure - 2026
Unverified evaluations in Dusk's PLONK · Dusk Network
Verifier trusted prover-supplied selector evaluations, enabling forged proofs and minting; shows verifier-level depth.
- ZK proofs
- Hashing & commitments
Vulnerability disclosure - 2025
Stacks WSTS cryptography review · Stacks
Listed on OtterSec's public reports index (osec.io/reports) under this title and date.
- MPC / threshold signatures
- Signatures
Audit - 2024
ZK Compression v1 audit (incl. groth16-solana) · Light Protocol
Audit of Solana ZK Compression programs with the groth16-solana verifier crate in scope; 30 findings reported.
- ZK proofs
- Hashing & commitments
Audit - 2024
Celestia BlobstreamX security assessment · Celestia
Contract-level review of BlobstreamX (gateway, function registry); two informational findings. Circuits not named in scope.
- Bridges & light clients
- Smart-contract cryptography
Audit - 2023
zk-token-sdk (confidential transfers) audit · Solana Foundation
ElGamal and sigma-proof library behind Token-2022 confidential transfers; two critical fee-proof findings.
- ZK proofs
- Cryptographic libraries
Audit - 2023
Mysten zkLogin review · Mysten Labs
Listed on OtterSec's public reports index (osec.io/reports) under this title and date.
- ZK proofs
Audit
- Website
- osec.io
- Type
- Blockchain & smart-contract auditor
- Headquarters
- Not publicly stated (operating entity Otter Audits LLC)
- Size
- 51-200 people
- Typical engagement
- Fixed-scope audits of weeks; also reviews emergency patches for ecosystem incidents (e.g. Solana's May 2025 ZK ElGamal fix).
- Public reports
- osec.io
Specialties
- Smart contracts
- Zero-knowledge proofs
- Wallets & key management
- MPC / threshold signatures
Languages reviewed
- Rust
- Move
- Solidity
- TypeScript
Open-source tools
- Anchor (Solana framework; OtterSec states it maintains it)
- bn-ebpf-solana (sBPF Binary Ninja plugin)
Sources · verified November 2026
Anchor: #ca-ottersec
PQShield (advisory)
Enterprises, critical-infrastructure operators and chip makers planning a post-quantum migration (crypto inventory, ML-KEM/ML-DSA roadmap) who want advice from PQC specialists — not a code audit.
Pricing tier 3 of 4: $$$$7 key worksMedium confidenceDetailsClose
Oxford University spin-out selling post-quantum cryptography IP whose advisory arm is in the UK NCSC's assured-consultancy PQC pilot for discovery, migration planning and advice.
Strengths
- Selected for the UK NCSC Assured Cyber Security Consultancy PQC pilot in both categories (Discovery & Migration Planning; Advice), Sept 2025
- Team wrote CRYPTREC's ML-KEM evaluation report and co-authors formal-verification work on ML-KEM
- Hardware/firmware PQC IP experience relevant to side-channel-aware migration
- Named customers/partners include AMD, Microchip, Lattice Semiconductor, Collins Aerospace and NTT Data
Watch-outs
- Advisory and IP vendor, not an audit firm; no public audit-report library
- Advice may touch on its own PQC products; ask how independence is handled
- Narrow focus: no ZK, MPC or smart-contract work
Key works
- 2025
CRYPTREC ML-KEM evaluation report (CRYPTREC-EX-3502-2025) · CRYPTRECLandmark
Independent evaluation of FIPS 203 covering proofs, cryptanalysis, side channels and TLS 1.3 use; a migration primer.
- Post-quantum
- Side-channel & hardware
- TLS & secure channels
Research - 2017
Falcon signature scheme (basis of NIST FN-DSA)Landmark
Multi-author NIST lattice signature (10 designers incl. Thomas Prest, now PQShield) selected by NIST in 2022; basis of FN-DSA.
- Post-quantum
- Signatures
Standard / spec - 2025
Formally verifying AVX2 rejection sampling for ML-KEM (explainer of Almeida et al., IEEE S&P 2025)
PQShield post on an EasyCrypt proof of Jasmin AVX2 rejection sampling for ML-KEM (Almeida et al., S&P 2025); not solely PQShield work.
- Post-quantum
- Formal verification
- Cryptographic libraries
Research - 2024
Formally verifying Kyber Episode V: IND-CCA security of ML-KEM in EasyCrypt
Crypto 2024 machine-checked IND-CCA proof of ML-KEM linked to Jasmin code; 14 authors, one from PQShield (P.-Y. Strub).
- Post-quantum
- Formal verification
Research - 2024
Threshold Raccoon: practical lattice threshold signatures
Eurocrypt 2024 threshold signatures from standard lattice assumptions; five PQShield authors plus one from XWiki/CryptPad.
- Post-quantum
- MPC / threshold signatures
- Signatures
Research - 2024
Raccoon: a masking-friendly signature proven in the probing model
CRYPTO 2024 masking-friendly lattice signature with t-probing proofs, submitted to NIST's extra-signature call; with ANSSI.
- Post-quantum
- Signatures
- Side-channel & hardware
Research - 2021
RISC-V scalar crypto, entropy source and constant-time extensions · RISC-V International
PQShield staff were main contributors, within the RISC-V Crypto Task Group, to the scalar crypto, entropy and constant-time extensions.
- Side-channel & hardware
- Randomness
- Cryptographic libraries
Standard / spec
- Website
- pqshield.com
- Type
- Applied cryptography specialist
- Headquarters
- Oxford, United Kingdom
- Founded
- 2018
- Size
- 51-200 people
- Typical engagement
- Advisory programmes (discovery of the cryptographic estate, migration roadmap, standards-aligned advice), with partners such as Capgemini, CGI, Roke and TCS for larger programmes.
- Europe
- UK company (Oxford spin-out); NCSC-assured PQC consultancy pilot for UK critical national infrastructure.
Specialties
- Post-quantum
- Protocol design review
- Side-channel & hardware
- Formal verification
Languages reviewed
- C/C++
- Assembly
- Jasmin
- Verilog
Sources · verified November 2026
Anchor: #ca-pqshield
Quarkslab
Maintainers of C/C++ or Python crypto and protocol libraries (TLS, SSH, disk encryption) and teams shipping post-quantum or embedded crypto that want a European, research-led implementation audit — often OSTIF-funded for open source.
Pricing tier 3 of 4: $$$$10 key worksHigh confidenceDetailsClose
French security research firm (now part of Airbus Defence and Space) with a cryptography team that audits TLS/SSH and crypto libraries, evaluates privacy-coin cryptography and tests post-quantum implementations.
Strengths
- Hands-on audits of core crypto libraries with public reports: Mbed TLS 4.0/TF-PSA-Crypto (2026), Paramiko (2025–26), VeraCrypt (2016), Monero Bulletproofs (2018)
- Publishes crypto-condor, an Apache-2.0 tool for testing primitive implementations against test vectors, including ML-KEM and ML-DSA
- Active post-quantum implementation research (HQC reference-implementation bugs, CVE-2024-54137; differential fuzzing of LibOQS and Bouncy Castle)
- French research culture with reverse-engineering and hardware depth
Watch-outs
- Little public ZK, MPC or smart-contract cryptography work
- Fewer public reports per year than high-volume crypto boutiques
- Acquired by Airbus Defence and Space (completed 1 Oct 2026); ask how this affects availability, pricing and independence for your engagement
Key works
- 2026
Mbed TLS 4.0 and TF-PSA-Crypto security audit · Arm / OSTIFLandmark
Audit of the embedded TLS and PSA crypto library used in IoT and firmware; useful for teams shipping constrained devices.
- TLS & secure channels
- Cryptographic libraries
Audit - 2024
MIFARE Classic static encrypted nonce and hardware backdoorsLandmark
Found hardware backdoors in Fudan FM11RF08S cards letting all keys be recovered in minutes (IACR ePrint 2024/1275).
- Side-channel & hardware
- Key management & HSM
Research - 2026
State of post-quantum cryptography implementations
Survey of PQC support in 23 open-source libraries with differential fuzzing of ML-KEM, ML-DSA and XMSS code.
- Post-quantum
- Cryptographic libraries
Research - 2025
Paramiko SSHv2 library and PyCA cryptography audit · OSTIF
SSH protocol review plus differential fuzzing of PyCA cryptography primitives; v1.1 adds the 2026 fix check.
- TLS & secure channels
- Cryptographic libraries
Audit - 2025
Bugs in HQC post-quantum KEM implementations (CVE-2024-54137)
Decapsulation flaw in the HQC reference code found while fuzzing liboqs; shows hands-on PQC implementation testing.
- Post-quantum
Vulnerability disclosure - 2024
crypto-condor test suite for cryptographic primitives
Open-source compliance tester for primitive implementations (incl. ML-KEM/ML-DSA) using test vectors.
- Cryptographic libraries
- Post-quantum
Tool - 2020
herumi mcl and bls pairing libraries assessment · Ethereum Foundation
Assessment of the herumi BLS12-381 pairing and BLS signature libraries for use in Ethereum 2.0 clients.
- Signatures
- Cryptographic libraries
Audit - 2019
dalek-cryptography libraries evaluation (curve25519-dalek, bulletproofs, subtle) · Tari Labs
Review of the Rust curve25519 and Bulletproofs crates that many wallets and protocols depend on.
- Cryptographic libraries
- ZK proofs
- Side-channel & hardware
Audit - 2018
Monero Bulletproofs implementation evaluation · Monero Research Lab / OSTIF
Early public audit of a production range-proof implementation before Monero's Bulletproofs rollout.
- ZK proofs
- Hashing & commitments
Audit - 2016
VeraCrypt 1.18 security assessment · OSTIF
Public audit of the widely used disk-encryption tool; shows bootloader, KDF and crypto-implementation review.
- Cryptographic libraries
- Key management & HSM
Audit
- Website
- quarkslab.com
- Type
- Security research firm with crypto practice
- Headquarters
- Paris, France
- Founded
- 2011
- Size
- 51-200 people
- Typical engagement
- Fixed-scope library or product audits of several weeks with a public report when the client agrees; open-source work is often funded through OSTIF (Mbed TLS 2026: two engineers).
- Public reports
- github.com
- Europe
- Registered office in Paris (Quarkslab SAS, 10 boulevard Haussmann); most of its ~100 staff are in Paris and Rennes. Part of Airbus Defence and Space since October 2026.
Specialties
- Implementation audit
- Post-quantum
- Side-channel & hardware
- Protocol design review
Languages reviewed
- C/C++
- Python
- Rust
- Go
Open-source tools
- crypto-condor (compliance testing of primitive implementations, incl. ML-KEM/ML-DSA)
Sources · verified November 2026
Anchor: #ca-quarkslab
Sigma Prime
Ethereum consensus, staking and rollup teams needing review of BLS/KZG code or zkVM-based consensus proofs by reviewers who also build core protocol software; budget-ready ZK projects (published floor applies).
Pricing tier 4 of 4: $$$$9 key worksHigh confidenceDetailsClose
Ethereum infrastructure and security firm (builder of the Lighthouse consensus client) auditing protocols, KZG/BLS cryptography, zkVM programs and ZK circuits.
Strengths
- Builds and maintains Lighthouse, giving first-hand Ethereum consensus and BLS expertise
- Public reviews of Ethereum's KZG ceremony and the c-kzg-4844/go-kzg-4844 libraries
- ZK audit service covering Circom, Halo2, Cairo, Plonky2 and Noir, plus zkVM work (RISC Zero, Polygon zkEVM)
- Publishes a ZK pricing floor, which helps budgeting
Watch-outs
- High published floor for ZK audits (from US$150k)
- Ethereum-centric; little public non-blockchain crypto work
- Sydney base; check time-zone overlap for European and US teams
Key works
- 2023
c-kzg-4844 and go-kzg-4844 libraries review · Ethereum FoundationLandmark
Pre-Dencun review of the C and Go KZG libraries Ethereum clients use for blobs; found a BLS12-381 point deserialisation bug.
- Hashing & commitments
- Cryptographic libraries
Audit - 2020
drand distributed randomness beacon review · Protocol Labs (Filecoin)Landmark
Threshold-BLS beacon and DKG review; found a rogue-key attack and a replay attack enabling node eviction in the DKG.
- Randomness
- MPC / threshold signatures
- Signatures
Audit - 2026
On-chain BLS library review · Lido
Review of Lido's Solidity BLS12-381 library for verifying validator deposit signatures; scope limited to BLS.sol.
- Signatures
- Smart-contract cryptography
Audit - 2025
The Signal: Ethereum consensus circuits review · RISC Zero
zkVM proofs of Casper FFG finality; pairs consensus-client expertise with ZK light-client review.
- ZK proofs
- Bridges & light clients
- Signatures
Audit - 2025
Clementine BitVM2 bridge review · Chainway Labs
Bitcoin bridge using BitVM2, MuSig2 and Winternitz keys; covers unverified light-client proof risks.
- Bridges & light clients
- Signatures
- ZK proofs
Audit - 2025
SP1 and zkVMs: a security auditor's guide
Checklist for reviewing SP1/RISC-V guest programs: input validation, 32-bit pitfalls, verification-key handling.
- ZK proofs
Research - 2023
Charon distributed validator protocol review · Obol
Threshold BLS validator middleware; flagged missing commitment-length checks in the Kryptology DKG dependency.
- MPC / threshold signatures
- Signatures
Audit - 2023
DC4BC batch BLSToExecutionChange signing review · Lido
Review of the threshold-BLS DKG tooling Lido used to sign its validators' BLSToExecutionChange messages.
- MPC / threshold signatures
- Key management & HSM
Audit - 2022
KZG Powers of Tau ceremony review · Ethereum Foundation
Review of the EIP-4844 trusted-setup sequencer; relevant to anyone running a public setup ceremony.
- Hashing & commitments
- Randomness
Audit
- Website
- sigmaprime.io
- Type
- Blockchain & smart-contract auditor
- Headquarters
- Sydney, Australia
- Founded
- 2016
- Size
- 1-50 people
- Typical engagement
- First-party: 'ZK audits start at US$150,000 and scale with circuit complexity'; engagements begin with a week of spec-building.
- Public reports
- github.com
Specialties
- Protocol design review
- Implementation audit
- Zero-knowledge proofs
- Smart contracts
- Wallets & key management
Languages reviewed
- Rust
- Go
- C
- Solidity
- Circom
- Halo2
- Noir
- Cairo
Open-source tools
- Lighthouse (Ethereum consensus client)
- Anchor (SSV client)
Sources · verified November 2026
Anchor: #ca-sigma-prime
Spearbit / Cantina
Web3 teams that want a hand-picked researcher team for a ZK circuit library or protocol (Halo2, Barretenberg) as part of a broader contract review, and can vet the named researchers' crypto record themselves.
Pricing tier 4 of 4: $$$$8 key worksMedium confidenceDetailsClose
Spearbit is a curated network of independent security researchers; Cantina, which grew out of it, now sells researcher-led and AI-assisted reviews, competitions and bug bounties.
Strengths
- Network model lets clients match named researchers to a ZK, L1/L2 or DeFi stack
- One of three firms Aztec chose for its comparative bigfield audit; its report included two of the three issues Aztec graded Critical (engagements differed in length and scope)
- Managed reviews, competitions and bounties available under one platform
- Stated process ends with a final verification audit of fixes
Watch-outs
- Reviewer quality depends on who is staffed; ask for named researchers and their cryptography record
- Few public, cryptography-specific reports; little non-blockchain crypto work
- Brand and site moved from cantina.xyz to cantina.security with an AI-native review offering; confirm what is human-led in your scope
Key works
- 2024
Axiom circuits security review (halo2-lib, axiom-eth) · AxiomLandmark
halo2 gadget library and Ethereum storage-proof circuits; 4 criticals fixed. Useful for halo2-based ZK coprocessors.
- ZK proofs
- Bridges & light clients
- Cryptographic libraries
Audit - 2022
Polygon zkEVM: Protocol (ROM and prover), engagement 1 · Polygon (Agglayer)Landmark
Pre-mainnet review of zkEVM ROM and prover code with 7 criticals fixed; a reference for zkEVM attack surfaces.
- ZK proofs
Audit - 2025
Aztec stdlib field security review · Aztec
Review of Barretenberg's in-circuit field_t primitive; low-severity and informational findings only.
- ZK proofs
- Cryptographic libraries
Audit - 2025
zksync-protocol BN254 circuits review · Matter Labs
BN254 scalar-mul and pairing circuit review in zkevm_circuits by three researchers incl. Guido Vranken; 5 informational.
- ZK proofs
- Cryptographic libraries
Audit - 2024
Barretenberg bigfield security review · Aztec
Found two criticals in bigfield non-native arithmetic (unconstrained bit in pow, limb invariant); Zellic also reviewed it.
- ZK proofs
- Cryptographic libraries
Audit - 2024
Succinct SP1 zkVM audit competition · Succinct Labs
Crowdsourced competition on SP1's AIRs, precompiles and verifier (65 submissions); no consolidated report is published.
- ZK proofs
Audit - 2023
Polygon zkEVM: Cryptography (pil-stark, proverjs) · Polygon (Agglayer)
Dedicated review of the PIL-STARK proving stack; shows how they split cryptography from protocol review.
- ZK proofs
- Cryptographic libraries
Audit - 2023
zkSync snark-wrapper review (Boojum, rescue-poseidon) · Matter Labs
Review of the wrapper compressing Boojum STARK proofs into a SNARK for L1 verification.
- ZK proofs
- Hashing & commitments
Audit
- Website
- cantina.security
- Type
- Audit contest platform
- Headquarters
- Miami, Florida, United States
- Founded
- 2021
- Size
- 51-200 people
- Typical engagement
- Team reviews scoped by codebase complexity and required expertise (no public rate card), plus fixed-window competitions with prize pools and ongoing bounties.
Specialties
- Smart contracts
- Zero-knowledge proofs
- Implementation audit
Languages reviewed
- Solidity
- Rust
- Halo2
- C++
- Go
Sources · verified November 2026
Anchor: #ca-spearbit-cantina
Trail of Bits
Teams shipping novel or high-value cryptography — threshold ECDSA/MPC wallets, ZK proof systems, post-quantum signatures, standard-library crypto — that want design review plus code review, with custom tooling, before mainnet or a major release.
Pricing tier 4 of 4: $$$$10 key worksHigh confidenceDetailsClose
Security research and engineering firm with a dedicated cryptography team doing design assessments, code reviews and cryptographic engineering, backed by one of the largest public report archives.
Strengths
- Dedicated cryptography team; the firm states half the team holds PhDs in cryptography
- Large public archive on GitHub with a separate 'Cryptography Reviews' section, including 2025–2026 reports on threshold ECDSA (NEAR One), Google's Go crypto libraries and ML-DSA/XMSS (QRL)
- Builds widely used open-source tools, e.g. Circomspect for Circom circuits and Slither/Echidna for Solidity
- Published research on proof-system weaknesses: 'Weak Fiat-Shamir Attacks on Modern Proof Systems' (IEEE S&P 2023, ToB co-authors)
Watch-outs
- Premium-priced consultancy; budget accordingly and compare scoped quotes
- Broad firm (AppSec, blockchain, AI); confirm the cryptography team itself is staffed on your engagement
- In-demand staff can mean longer lead times; plan bookings early
Key works
- 2025
Go cryptographic libraries security assessment · GoogleLandmark
Review of the Go standard library crypto packages: constant-time and API-misuse findings, scalar-mult analysis and fix review.
- Cryptographic libraries
- Signatures
- TLS & secure channels
Audit - 2022
Frozen Heart: weak Fiat-Shamir in Girault, Bulletproofs and PlonKLandmark
Named a bug class (insecure Fiat-Shamir) found across gnark, SnarkJS, Dusk PlonK and others; now a standard ZK audit check.
- ZK proofs
Vulnerability disclosure - 2026
NEAR One Robust ECDSA threshold signing assessment · NEAR One
Review of NEAR One's threshold-ECDSA implementation and its changes from the DJNPO20 scheme, with fix review.
- MPC / threshold signatures
- Signatures
Audit - 2026
Turnkey key management system assessment · Turnkey
Assessment of an enclave-based wallet key management system, with fix review.
- Key management & HSM
- Wallets
Audit - 2025
Open Quantum Safe liboqs security assessment · Open Quantum Safe
Review of liboqs wrapper code, CI and constant-time testing, with differential fuzzing of ML-KEM-512 implementations.
- Post-quantum
- Cryptographic libraries
Audit - 2025
Google Longfellow zero-knowledge library assessment · Google
Review of Google's ZK system for privacy-preserving proofs over identity credentials (e.g. age checks).
- ZK proofs
- Signatures
Audit - 2024
OpenSSL security assessment (OSTIF) · OpenSSL
OSTIF-organised review of OpenSSL 3's provider architecture and new primitives (KDFs, SIV, Blake2); the TLS stack was not the focus.
- Cryptographic libraries
Audit - 2023
Discord DAVE end-to-end encryption protocol design review · Discord
Design review of Discord's MLS-based E2EE for audio/video calls; a reference for group-messaging protocol reviews.
- Messaging & E2EE
Audit - 2022
Circomspect static analyzer for Circom circuits
Open-source linter that flags under-constrained signals and risky patterns in Circom ZK circuits.
- ZK proofs
Tool - 2021
ZKDocs: implementation guide to ZK and related primitives
Open documentation of common pitfalls in non-standard protocols (Fiat-Shamir, Paillier, Shamir sharing) drawn from audits.
- ZK proofs
- MPC / threshold signatures
Tool
- Website
- trailofbits.com
- Type
- Security research firm with crypto practice
- Headquarters
- New York, United States
- Founded
- 2012
- Size
- 51-200 people
- Typical engagement
- Multi-week design and code assessments staffed by named engineers, usually followed by a fix review (e.g. QRL fixes were reviewed about a month after the main assessment). Ask for a quote; no first-party rate card is published.
- Public reports
- github.com
Specialties
- Protocol design review
- Implementation audit
- Zero-knowledge proofs
- MPC / threshold signatures
- Post-quantum
- Smart contracts
- Wallets & key management
Languages reviewed
- Rust
- Go
- C/C++
- Python
- TypeScript
- Solidity
- Circom
Open-source tools
- Circomspect
- ZKDocs
- Slither
- Echidna
- Medusa
Sources · verified November 2026
Anchor: #ca-trail-of-bits
Veridise
zkVM, ZK-circuit and ZK-coprocessor teams (RISC Zero, ZKsync Airbender, Halo2/Circom/gnark circuits) that want tool-assisted audits focused on under-constrained circuits, pre-launch or as recurring CI-integrated review.
Pricing tier 3 of 4: $$$$10 key worksHigh confidenceDetailsClose
Blockchain auditor with a strong ZK practice that pairs manual review with in-house verification tooling such as the Picus under-constraint checker.
Strengths
- Large public ZK audit archive covering zkVMs, precompiles and circuits (RISC Zero, ZKsync Airbender, Monero FCMP++, Succinct)
- Picus formally checks circuit determinism; in a 2025 preliminary engagement it proved determinism for 11 SP1 operations
- Published data from 100 audits: 55% of its ZK audits had a critical issue vs 27.5% of other audits (The Block, Jul 2024)
- Academic formal-methods roots; publishes papers and conference talks on ZK verification
Watch-outs
- Focus is blockchain/ZK; little public work on TLS, PQC or enterprise cryptography
- Small team (about 40 staff per Built In); capacity can be constrained
- Many archive reports are smart-contract scope; confirm ZK specialists are staffed
Key works
- 2025
RISC Zero zkVM V2 circuits, recursion and prover audit · RISC ZeroLandmark
End-to-end zkVM review: RISC-V and recursion circuits, ELF decoding, STARK verifiers and prover.
- ZK proofs
Audit - 2023
Automated detection of under-constrained ZK circuits (QED², PLDI 2023)Landmark
With UT Austin, UCSB, 0xPARC and others: QED2 resolved 70% of 163 Circom circuits and found 8 new bugs.
- ZK proofs
- Formal verification
Research - 2026
ZKsync Airbender zkVM tool-assisted assessment (Picus, fuzzing) · Matter Labs
Shows Veridise's tool-led method on a RISC-V zkVM: Picus determinism checks plus fuzzing and targeted review.
- ZK proofs
- Formal verification
Audit - 2025
Monero FCMP++ full-chain membership proofs audit · MAGIC Grants
Review of the curve-tree membership-proof gadgets for Monero's FCMP++ upgrade; no low-or-higher issues found.
- ZK proofs
- Hashing & commitments
Audit - 2024
o1js ZK framework audit · o1Labs
Constraint-level review of Mina's TypeScript ZK framework and its field encodings.
- ZK proofs
- Cryptographic libraries
Audit - 2024
DendrETH Plonky2 beacon light client audit · Metacraft Labs
Review of a ZK light client proving beacon-chain state in Plonky2, plus contracts integrating it with Lido and Diva.
- ZK proofs
- Bridges & light clients
Audit - 2024
BLS12-381 in halo2-ecc audit · ChainSafe
In-circuit BLS12-381 arithmetic for verifying BLS signatures inside halo2, as used by ZK light clients.
- ZK proofs
- Signatures
- Bridges & light clients
Audit - 2024
LLZK: MLIR intermediate representation for ZK circuits
Open IR that lets analysis tools work across ZK circuit languages.
- ZK proofs
Tool - 2023
Daimo P256Verifier audit · Daimo
Solidity ECDSA verifier for P-256 (secp256r1), designed as a drop-in for the proposed EIP-7212 precompile.
- Signatures
- Smart-contract cryptography
Audit - 2022
Picus under-constrained circuit checker
Open-source checker for under-constrained signals in Circom, R1CS and gnark circuits.
- ZK proofs
- Formal verification
Tool
- Website
- veridise.com
- Type
- Blockchain & smart-contract auditor
- Headquarters
- Austin, Texas, United States
- Founded
- 2021
- Size
- 1-50 people
- Typical engagement
- Fixed-scope ZK and contract audits of a few weeks (ChainSafe BLS: under two weeks) up to multi-month zkVM programmes (RISC Zero: July–December 2024); repeat engagements are common.
- Public reports
- veridise.com
Specialties
- Zero-knowledge proofs
- Smart contracts
- Formal verification
- Implementation audit
Languages reviewed
- Circom
- Halo2 (Rust)
- Rust
- Solidity
- Leo
- o1js (TypeScript)
- gnark (Go)
Open-source tools
- Picus (ZK circuit under-constraint checker)
- LLZK (circuit IR)
Sources · verified November 2026
Anchor: #ca-veridise
X41 D-Sec
Projects whose cryptographic risk sits in protocol and signing code — secure messengers, software-update and supply-chain signing (TUF/in-toto), QUIC/TLS stacks, VPN clients — and that want a German code-audit firm with public reports.
Pricing tier 2 of 4: $$$$9 key worksMedium confidenceDetailsClose
German source-code audit firm whose public reports include messenger cryptography (Wire/Proteus), a post-quantum ledger (QRL), software-update signing frameworks (TUF, in-toto) and QUIC libraries.
Strengths
- Many public source-code audit reports, including signing frameworks (TUF, go-tuf, in-toto, RSTUF) and QUIC libraries
- Messenger and ledger cryptography reviews: Wire Proteus (2017, with Kudelski Security) and QRL (2018)
- Steady VPN-client audit work (Mullvad 2024 and 2026, AzireVPN/Malwarebytes 2026), useful when crypto sits inside a larger client app
- German base with offices in Aachen and Frankfurt
Watch-outs
- Generalist code-audit firm; little public ZK, MPC or post-quantum-specific work
- Most messenger/ledger cryptography reviews are older (2017–2018); the 2024 Mullvad app report did not put tunnel cryptography in scope
- Small team; founding year and headcount are not published
Key works
- 2025
nghttp3 and ngtcp2 (QUIC / HTTP/3) source code audit · OSTIFLandmark
QUIC/HTTP/3 stack review incl. QUIC-TLS adherence, key agreement and key-update handling; TLS backends not audited.
- TLS & secure channels
Audit - 2022
The Update Framework (TUF) source code audit · OSTIFLandmark
Audit of the python-tuf client workflow and Metadata API, the reference for signed software-update security.
- Signatures
- Key management & HSM
Audit - 2023
go-tuf implementation code review · OSTIF
Client-focused review of the Go implementation of TUF, the framework for signed software updates.
- Signatures
- Key management & HSM
Audit - 2023
in-toto framework and specification audit · OSTIF
Spec and Python/Go code review of signed supply-chain attestations.
- Signatures
Audit - 2019
RandomX proof-of-work audit · Monero Labs (via OSTIF)
Design and code review of Monero's CPU-oriented PoW, with Secfault Security, incl. ASIC/FPGA feasibility analysis.
- Hashing & commitments
Audit - 2018
theQRL security review (XMSS-based ledger) · The Quantum Resistant Ledger
Early review of a production hash-based (XMSS) signature deployment, incl. key-index reuse risks.
- Post-quantum
- Signatures
- Wallets
Audit - 2018
Wire security review phase 2: web app and calling key establishment (with Kudelski) · Wire Swiss
Joint review with Kudelski of how Wire calling establishes SRTP keys via Proteus, plus the Wire web app.
- Messaging & E2EE
Audit - 2018
Smartcard driver vulnerabilities (OpenSC, Yubico PIV, pam_pkcs11 and others)
Fuzzing found memory-corruption bugs triggered by malicious cards in common smartcard middleware (DEF CON 2018).
- Key management & HSM
- Side-channel & hardware
Vulnerability disclosure - 2017
Wire Proteus protocol and Cryptobox review (with Kudelski) · Wire Swiss
Joint review with Kudelski Security of Wire's Proteus messaging protocol and Cryptobox, in Rust and CoffeeScript.
- Messaging & E2EE
- Cryptographic libraries
Audit
- Website
- x41-dsec.de
- Type
- Security research firm with crypto practice
- Headquarters
- Aachen, Germany
- Size
- 1-50 people
- Typical engagement
- Time-boxed source-code audits of roughly 2–5 weeks with public reports (TUF 2022: two weeks of testing; ngtcp2/nghttp3 2025: about five weeks); frequent OSTIF-funded open-source work.
- Public reports
- x41-dsec.de
- Europe
- Headquartered in Aachen, Germany, with an office in Frankfurt.
Specialties
- Implementation audit
- Protocol design review
- Wallets & key management
Languages reviewed
- C/C++
- Rust
- Go
- Python
- Java
Open-source tools
- BeanStack (Java fingerprinting)
Sources · verified November 2026
Anchor: #ca-x41-d-sec
Zellic
ZK rollups, proof aggregators, ZK light clients and privacy-coin teams (Zcash Sapling/Orchard, librustzcash) that want a high-volume Web3 auditor with ZK and applied-crypto depth.
Pricing tier 3 of 4: $$$$9 key worksMedium confidenceDetailsClose
Vulnerability-research firm founded by CTF players, with substantial public ZK and applied-cryptography audit output across zkEVMs, proof aggregators, ZK light clients and Zcash.
Strengths
- Public reports on major ZK systems: Scroll zkEVM circuits, SP1 design review, Barretenberg bigfield, Nebra UPA circuits, Blobstream X
- Recent Zcash cryptography work in 2026 (Sapling, librustzcash and further Zcash reports)
- One of three firms Aztec chose for a side-by-side bigfield audit (2024)
- Team background in top-ranked CTF competition; site lists applied cryptography and ZK circuits among core specialisms
Watch-outs
- Web3-centric; little public work on TLS, PQC or enterprise crypto
- Headquarters and headcount are not stated on its site; confirm contracting entity and staffing
- Code4rena, the contest platform Zellic acquired in 2024, announced in May 2026 that it is winding down; do not assume a contest add-on is available
Key works
- 2026
Zcash Sapling cryptographic security assessment · Valar GroupLandmark
Recent review of Zcash's Sapling shielded protocol code; shows depth on production privacy cryptography.
- ZK proofs
- Hashing & commitments
- Cryptographic libraries
Audit - 2023
Scroll zkEVM circuits, Part 1 (with KALOS) · ScrollLandmark
Halo2 zkEVM circuit assessment (with KALOS); a reference for under-constrained circuit findings in zkEVMs.
- ZK proofs
Audit - 2026
Zcash Ironwood upgrade cryptographic assessment · Valar Group
Checks new Orchard/Ironwood bundle flags and v3 note-commitment trapdoor derivation against the spec.
- ZK proofs
- Hashing & commitments
Audit - 2026
Relay Protocol legacy Bitcoin sighash bug · Relay Protocol
Legacy P2PKH signing omitted input amounts, letting an MPC signer approve fee-draining sweeps of deposits.
- Signatures
- MPC / threshold signatures
- Bridges & light clients
Vulnerability disclosure - 2024
SP1 zkVM design review (register-memory aliasing) · Succinct Labs
Focused review of SP1's register-memory aliasing and RISC-V spec compliance; not a full audit of the SP1 implementation.
- ZK proofs
Audit - 2024
Barretenberg bigfield proof circuit assessment · Aztec
Review of non-native field arithmetic gadgets in Aztec's prover stack, a common source of soundness bugs.
- ZK proofs
- Cryptographic libraries
Audit - 2024
Blobstream X zero-knowledge assessment · Celestia
ZK light-client circuits relaying Celestia data roots to Ethereum; relevant to bridge and DA builders.
- ZK proofs
- Bridges & light clients
Audit - 2024
Universal Proof Aggregator circuit assessment · Nebra
Review of recursive proof-aggregation circuits; relevant to anyone verifying many Groth16 proofs at once.
- ZK proofs
Audit - 2024
SolBLS BLS signature library assessment · Warlock Labs
On-chain BLS verification library review; a reference for teams verifying pairing-based signatures in Solidity.
- Signatures
- Smart-contract cryptography
Audit
- Website
- zellic.io
- Type
- Blockchain & smart-contract auditor
- Headquarters
- Not publicly stated
- Founded
- 2021
- Size
- 51-200 people
- Typical engagement
- Consultative audits of a few weeks with a public PDF report when the client agrees.
- Public reports
- github.com
Specialties
- Zero-knowledge proofs
- Smart contracts
- Implementation audit
- Protocol design review
Languages reviewed
- Rust
- Go
- C++
- Solidity
- Move
- Circom
- Halo2
Sources · verified November 2026
Anchor: #ca-zellic
zkSecurity
ZK rollups, zkVMs, proof-system and circuit-heavy projects (Circom, Cairo, Halo2, gnark, STARK verifiers) that need proof-system soundness specialists before launch or a major upgrade; also confidential-transfer and encrypted-mempool designs.
Pricing tier 3 of 4: $$$$10 key worksHigh confidenceDetailsClose
Cryptography-focused firm launched in May 2023 that audits and builds ZK proof systems, zkVMs, circuits, KZG libraries and other advanced cryptography, with a high volume of public reports.
Strengths
- Very high public output: 67 reports listed on its reports site, 12 of them dated 2026
- Covers proof systems, zkVMs, KZG libraries and Circom/Cairo circuits, plus confidential-asset and encrypted-mempool designs (Aptos, 2026)
- In Aztec's three-firm comparative bigfield audit, its report included all three issues Aztec graded Critical (engagement lengths and scopes differed between firms, per Aztec's issue-comparison table)
- Also does development and formal-verification work (e.g. the Lean-based 'clean' circuit DSL), not only audits
Watch-outs
- Young firm (launched 2023) with a small team (about 15 engineers including interns, per a Sept 2024 founder post)
- Strong ZK/Web3 focus; few public enterprise, TLS or hardware crypto reviews
- Headquarters and legal entity are not stated on its site; confirm the contracting entity
Key works
- 2025
PeerDAS KZG libraries audit (blst, c-kzg-4844, rust-eth-kzg, go-eth-kzg) · Ethereum FoundationLandmark
Review of the four KZG libraries Ethereum clients use for PeerDAS data availability; some blst assembly was out of scope.
- Hashing & commitments
- Cryptographic libraries
- Signatures
Audit - 2023
zkLogin circuits and trusted-setup ceremony audit · Mysten LabsLandmark
Audit of Circom circuits proving OAuth (JWT) logins for Sui wallets, plus patches to the Groth16 ceremony tooling.
- ZK proofs
- Wallets
Audit - 2026
OpenVM 2.0 zkVM audit · Axiom
Four-phase review of a STARK zkVM: recursive verifier, continuations, Halo2 static verifier and new SHA-2/Keccak AIRs.
- ZK proofs
Audit - 2026
Zcash Orchard and Halo2 gadgets audit · Tachyon Foundation
Fresh review of the Orchard Action circuit, Halo2 gadgets and PLONK verifier that secure Zcash's shielded pool.
- ZK proofs
- Hashing & commitments
Audit - 2026
OpenVM pairing library soundness bug (CVE-2026-46669)
Critical pairing-check bypass found with an AI auditor and fixed in OpenVM 1.6.0.
- ZK proofs
- Signatures
Vulnerability disclosure - 2025
Stwo-Cairo verifier audit · StarkWare
Review of a Cairo implementation of the Stwo (Circle STARK) verifier, checked against a draft of the Stwo whitepaper.
- ZK proofs
Audit - 2025
Rust p256 crate audit · NEAR
Review of the RustCrypto p256 crate: curve and field arithmetic and ECDSA verification, with a focus on 32-bit targets.
- Signatures
- Cryptographic libraries
Audit - 2025
Phantom Challenge soundness bug in Solana's ZK ElGamal proof program
Missing Fiat-Shamir input allowed forged proofs in confidential transfers; the feature was paused and patched.
- ZK proofs
- Smart-contract cryptography
Vulnerability disclosure - 2024
zkbugs: reproducible ZK circuit vulnerabilities
Open dataset reproducing real ZK circuit bugs, useful for training reviewers and benchmarking tools.
- ZK proofs
Tool - 2024
clean: Lean DSL for formally verified ZK circuits
Embedded Lean framework for writing circuits (AIR, PLONK, R1CS) with machine-checked proofs.
- ZK proofs
- Formal verification
Tool
- Website
- zksecurity.xyz
- Type
- Applied cryptography specialist
- Headquarters
- Not publicly stated (remote team)
- Founded
- 2023
- Size
- 1-50 people
- Typical engagement
- Fixed-scope audits of a few weeks (e.g. Stwo-Cairo verifier: 3 weeks; PeerDAS KZG: 4 weeks), with frequent repeat or multi-phase engagements (OpenVM 2.0 ran in four phases).
- Public reports
- reports.zksecurity.xyz
Specialties
- Zero-knowledge proofs
- Implementation audit
- Protocol design review
- MPC / threshold signatures
- Formal verification
- Smart contracts
Languages reviewed
- Rust
- Circom
- Noir
- Cairo
- Go
- Solidity
Open-source tools
- zkbugs (reproducible ZK circuit bugs)
- clean (Lean DSL for formally verified ZK circuits)
Sources · verified November 2026
Anchor: #ca-zksecurity
Nothing matches these filters.
Key works library
- 2026
Mbed TLS 4.0 and TF-PSA-Crypto security audit · Arm / OSTIFLandmark
Audit of the embedded TLS and PSA crypto library used in IoT and firmware; useful for teams shipping constrained devices.
- TLS & secure channels
- Cryptographic libraries
Quarkslab
Audit - 2026
Unfaithful claims: breaking 6 zkVMsLandmark
Fiat-Shamir transcript gaps in Jolt, Nexus, Ceno, Expander, Binius64 and Cairo-M verifiers allowed false proofs.
- ZK proofs
- Hashing & commitments
OtterSec
Vulnerability disclosure - 2026
World ID OPRF nullifier (threshold/secret-sharing) review · WorldLandmark
Rust threshold-OPRF nullifier code: Lagrange party-ID checks, constant-time field ops, EdDSA timing, Poseidon2.
- MPC / threshold signatures
- Signatures
- Hashing & commitments
Nethermind Security
Audit - 2026
Zcash Sapling cryptographic security assessment · Valar GroupLandmark
Recent review of Zcash's Sapling shielded protocol code; shows depth on production privacy cryptography.
- ZK proofs
- Hashing & commitments
- Cryptographic libraries
Zellic
Audit - 2026
BLS12-381 and BLS signature implementation review · Anza Technology
Recent pairing-curve and BLS signature review for Solana; a current example of NCC's curve-arithmetic work.
- Signatures
- Cryptographic libraries
- 2026
NEAR One Robust ECDSA threshold signing assessment · NEAR One
Review of NEAR One's threshold-ECDSA implementation and its changes from the DJNPO20 scheme, with fix review.
- MPC / threshold signatures
- Signatures
Trail of Bits
Audit - 2026
On-chain BLS library review · Lido
Review of Lido's Solidity BLS12-381 library for verifying validator deposit signatures; scope limited to BLS.sol.
- Signatures
- Smart-contract cryptography
Sigma Prime
Audit - 2026
OpenVM 2.0 zkVM audit · Axiom
Four-phase review of a STARK zkVM: recursive verifier, continuations, Halo2 static verifier and new SHA-2/Keccak AIRs.
- ZK proofs
zkSecurity
Audit - 2026
OpenVM pairing library soundness bug (CVE-2026-46669)
Critical pairing-check bypass found with an AI auditor and fixed in OpenVM 1.6.0.
- ZK proofs
- Signatures
zkSecurity
Vulnerability disclosure - 2026
Relay Protocol legacy Bitcoin sighash bug · Relay Protocol
Legacy P2PKH signing omitted input amounts, letting an MPC signer approve fee-draining sweeps of deposits.
- Signatures
- MPC / threshold signatures
- Bridges & light clients
Zellic
Vulnerability disclosure - 2026
Serai distributed key generation (PVSS) implementation audit · MAGIC Grants
Audit of a DKG built on publicly verifiable secret sharing for a cross-chain DEX's threshold keys.
- MPC / threshold signatures
Least Authority
Audit - 2026
solana-ed25519 library audit · Anza Technology
Recent review of the Ed25519 signature library used across Solana tooling.
- Signatures
- Cryptographic libraries
Least Authority
Audit - 2026
State of post-quantum cryptography implementations
Survey of PQC support in 23 open-source libraries with differential fuzzing of ML-KEM, ML-DSA and XMSS code.
- Post-quantum
- Cryptographic libraries
Quarkslab
Research - 2026
Turnkey key management system assessment · Turnkey
Assessment of an enclave-based wallet key management system, with fix review.
- Key management & HSM
- Wallets
Trail of Bits
Audit - 2026
Unverified evaluations in Dusk's PLONK · Dusk Network
Verifier trusted prover-supplied selector evaluations, enabling forged proofs and minting; shows verifier-level depth.
- ZK proofs
- Hashing & commitments
OtterSec
Vulnerability disclosure - 2026
World nullifier contracts security review · World
On-chain side of the World ID nullifier system; flagged a missing BabyJubJub on-curve check.
- Smart-contract cryptography
- Signatures
Nethermind Security
Audit - 2026
Zcash Ironwood upgrade cryptographic assessment · Valar Group
Checks new Orchard/Ironwood bundle flags and v3 note-commitment trapdoor derivation against the spec.
- ZK proofs
- Hashing & commitments
Zellic
Audit - 2026
Zcash Orchard and Halo2 gadgets audit · Tachyon Foundation
Fresh review of the Orchard Action circuit, Halo2 gadgets and PLONK verifier that secure Zcash's shielded pool.
- ZK proofs
- Hashing & commitments
zkSecurity
Audit - 2026
ZKsync Airbender zkVM tool-assisted assessment (Picus, fuzzing) · Matter Labs
Shows Veridise's tool-led method on a RISC-V zkVM: Picus determinism checks plus fuzzing and targeted review.
- ZK proofs
- Formal verification
Veridise
Audit - 2025
CRYPTREC ML-KEM evaluation report (CRYPTREC-EX-3502-2025) · CRYPTRECLandmark
Independent evaluation of FIPS 203 covering proofs, cryptanalysis, side channels and TLS 1.3 use; a migration primer.
- Post-quantum
- Side-channel & hardware
- TLS & secure channels
PQShield (advisory)
Research - 2025
Formal verification of the ZKsync PLONK verifier in EasyCrypt · Matter LabsLandmark
With Matter Labs: EasyCrypt proof that ZKsync's production Yul verifier matches a PLONK/plookup honest-verifier model.
- Formal verification
- ZK proofs
- Smart-contract cryptography
Nethermind Security
Research - 2025
Go cryptographic libraries security assessment · GoogleLandmark
Review of the Go standard library crypto packages: constant-time and API-misuse findings, scalar-mult analysis and fix review.
- Cryptographic libraries
- Signatures
- TLS & secure channels
Trail of Bits
Audit - 2025
Intmax 2 ZKP circuits code assessment · IntmaxLandmark
Soundness review of recursive Plonky2 rollup circuits (balance, validity, withdrawal); 7 criticals found and fixed.
- ZK proofs
ChainSecurity
Audit - 2025
nghttp3 and ngtcp2 (QUIC / HTTP/3) source code audit · OSTIFLandmark
QUIC/HTTP/3 stack review incl. QUIC-TLS adherence, key agreement and key-update handling; TLS backends not audited.
- TLS & secure channels
X41 D-Sec
Audit - 2025
PeerDAS KZG libraries audit (blst, c-kzg-4844, rust-eth-kzg, go-eth-kzg) · Ethereum FoundationLandmark
Review of the four KZG libraries Ethereum clients use for PeerDAS data availability; some blst assembly was out of scope.
- Hashing & commitments
- Cryptographic libraries
- Signatures
zkSecurity
Audit - 2025
RISC Zero zkVM V2 circuits, recursion and prover audit · RISC ZeroLandmark
End-to-end zkVM review: RISC-V and recursion circuits, ELF decoding, STARK verifiers and prover.
- ZK proofs
Veridise
Audit - 2025
SiXG301 Series 3 Secure Vault, PSA Certified Level 4 evaluation · Silicon LabsLandmark
Announced as the first PSA Certified Level 4 evaluation; included side-channel and fault-injection testing of Secure Vault.
- Side-channel & hardware
- Key management & HSM
Keysight (Riscure)
Certification - 2025
Aztec stdlib field security review · Aztec
Review of Barretenberg's in-circuit field_t primitive; low-severity and informational findings only.
- ZK proofs
- Cryptographic libraries
Spearbit / Cantina
Audit - 2025
Bugs in HQC post-quantum KEM implementations (CVE-2024-54137)
Decapsulation flaw in the HQC reference code found while fuzzing liboqs; shows hands-on PQC implementation testing.
- Post-quantum
Quarkslab
Vulnerability disclosure - 2025
cb-mpc MPC cryptography library audit · Coinbase
Crypto review of Coinbase's C++ MPC and ZK-proof library cb-mpc; tested Nov-Dec 2024, report dated March 2025.
- MPC / threshold signatures
- ZK proofs
- Cryptographic libraries
Cure53
Audit - 2025
Clementine BitVM2 bridge review · Chainway Labs
Bitcoin bridge using BitVM2, MuSig2 and Winternitz keys; covers unverified light-client proof risks.
- Bridges & light clients
- Signatures
- ZK proofs
Sigma Prime
Audit - 2025
CMUF feedback coordination for ISO/IEC 19790:2025 and 24759:2025 · CMUF / ISO/IEC JTC1/SC27 WG3
atsec hosted CMUF, co-led its FIPS 140-3 working group and coordinated feedback to SC27 on the 2025 standards.
- Key management & HSM
- Cryptographic libraries
atsec information security
Standard / spec - 2025
Formally verifying AVX2 rejection sampling for ML-KEM (explainer of Almeida et al., IEEE S&P 2025)
PQShield post on an EasyCrypt proof of Jasmin AVX2 rejection sampling for ML-KEM (Almeida et al., S&P 2025); not solely PQShield work.
- Post-quantum
- Formal verification
- Cryptographic libraries
PQShield (advisory)
Research - 2025
Google Longfellow zero-knowledge library assessment · Google
Review of Google's ZK system for privacy-preserving proofs over identity credentials (e.g. age checks).
- ZK proofs
- Signatures
Trail of Bits
Audit - 2025
Lido accounting zk-oracle on SP1: circuit and verifier · Lido
zkVM program proving beacon-chain balances; high-severity validator-index manipulation found and fixed.
- ZK proofs
- Bridges & light clients
Nethermind Security
Audit - 2025
Linea zkEVM Limitless Prover audit · Consensys
Audit of the distributed prover and compiler components of a production zkEVM.
- ZK proofs
Least Authority
Audit - 2025
ML-DSA side-channel countermeasure evaluation · NXP Semiconductors
Press item: leakage tests of NXP's ML-DSA signing in three configurations (unprotected and two countermeasure levels).
- Post-quantum
- Side-channel & hardware
- Signatures
Keysight (Riscure)
Research - 2025
Monero FCMP++ full-chain membership proofs audit · MAGIC Grants
Review of the curve-tree membership-proof gadgets for Monero's FCMP++ upgrade; no low-or-higher issues found.
- ZK proofs
- Hashing & commitments
Veridise
Audit - 2025
Open Quantum Safe liboqs security assessment · Open Quantum Safe
Review of liboqs wrapper code, CI and constant-time testing, with differential fuzzing of ML-KEM-512 implementations.
- Post-quantum
- Cryptographic libraries
Trail of Bits
Audit - 2025
Paramiko SSHv2 library and PyCA cryptography audit · OSTIF
SSH protocol review plus differential fuzzing of PyCA cryptography primitives; v1.1 adds the 2026 fix check.
- TLS & secure channels
- Cryptographic libraries
Quarkslab
Audit - 2025
Phantom Challenge soundness bug in Solana's ZK ElGamal proof program
Missing Fiat-Shamir input allowed forged proofs in confidential transfers; the feature was paused and patched.
- ZK proofs
- Smart-contract cryptography
zkSecurity
Vulnerability disclosure - 2025
Rust p256 crate audit · NEAR
Review of the RustCrypto p256 crate: curve and field arithmetic and ECDSA verification, with a focus on 32-bit targets.
- Signatures
- Cryptographic libraries
zkSecurity
Audit - 2025
SAMM anonymous multisig Noir circuits audit · Oxorio (SAMM)
Noir circuits for email-based anonymous Safe voting; a reference for Noir and email-proof designs.
- ZK proofs
- Wallets
Nethermind Security
Audit - 2025
SP1 and zkVMs: a security auditor's guide
Checklist for reviewing SP1/RISC-V guest programs: input validation, 32-bit pitfalls, verification-key handling.
- ZK proofs
Sigma Prime
Research - 2025
Stacks WSTS cryptography review · Stacks
Listed on OtterSec's public reports index (osec.io/reports) under this title and date.
- MPC / threshold signatures
- Signatures
OtterSec
Audit - 2025
Stwo-Cairo verifier audit · StarkWare
Review of a Cairo implementation of the Stwo (Circle STARK) verifier, checked against a draft of the Stwo whitepaper.
- ZK proofs
zkSecurity
Audit - 2025
The Signal: Ethereum consensus circuits review · RISC Zero
zkVM proofs of Casper FFG finality; pairs consensus-client expertise with ZK light-client review.
- ZK proofs
- Bridges & light clients
- Signatures
Sigma Prime
Audit - 2025
Token-2022 confidential transfer audit · Anza Technology
Review of Solana's ElGamal-based confidential token transfers and their zero-knowledge proofs.
- ZK proofs
- Smart-contract cryptography
Least Authority
Audit - 2025
World Chain Priority Blockspace for Humans contracts · World
World ID proof-gated blockspace; found nullifier hashes could be consumed without a valid proof (medium).
- ZK proofs
- Smart-contract cryptography
Nethermind Security
Audit - 2025
ZKsync crypto precompile audit (BN254 pairing) · Matter Labs
Review of Boojum circuit gadgets for BN254 field and curve arithmetic; five highs incl. a missing G2 subgroup check.
- ZK proofs
- Cryptographic libraries
OpenZeppelin
Audit - 2025
ZKsync protocol precompiles implementation audit · Matter Labs
Covers ECAdd, ECMul, ECPairing and ModExp precompile logic and circuit definitions in ZKsync; ModExp circuits in full.
- ZK proofs
- Cryptographic libraries
OpenZeppelin
Audit - 2025
ZKsync SSO account recovery circuits audit · Matter Labs / Moonsong Labs
Circom circuits proving a Google-signed JWT (RSA-SHA256) for smart-wallet account recovery; a zkLogin-style reference.
- ZK proofs
- Signatures
- Wallets
OpenZeppelin
Audit - 2025
zksync-protocol BN254 circuits review · Matter Labs
BN254 scalar-mul and pairing circuit review in zkevm_circuits by three researchers incl. Guido Vranken; 5 informational.
- ZK proofs
- Cryptographic libraries
Spearbit / Cantina
Audit - 2024
Axiom circuits security review (halo2-lib, axiom-eth) · AxiomLandmark
halo2 gadget library and Ethereum storage-proof circuits; 4 criticals fixed. Useful for halo2-based ZK coprocessors.
- ZK proofs
- Bridges & light clients
- Cryptographic libraries
Spearbit / Cantina
Audit - 2024
First ML-KEM and ML-DSA algorithm testing via NIST ACVTSLandmark
atsec reports running the first ML-KEM/ML-DSA CAVP tests hours after NIST opened ACVTS in Aug 2024.
- Post-quantum
- Cryptographic libraries
atsec information security
Certification - 2024
gnark and gnark-crypto audit for the Linea prover (phase 1) · ConsensysLandmark
Covers GKR, sumcheck and polynomial code in gnark, a widely used Go ZK library.
- ZK proofs
- Cryptographic libraries
Least Authority
Audit - 2024
Linea gnark PLONK prover backend and verifier audit · Linea (Consensys)Landmark
Review of gnark's BN254 PLONK prover and Solidity verifier template; found unblinded quotient shards (high).
- ZK proofs
- Cryptographic libraries
OpenZeppelin
Audit - 2024
MIFARE Classic static encrypted nonce and hardware backdoorsLandmark
Found hardware backdoors in Fudan FM11RF08S cards letting all keys be recovered in minutes (IACR ePrint 2024/1275).
- Side-channel & hardware
- Key management & HSM
Quarkslab
Research - 2024
noble-ciphers and noble-curves libraries audit · Paul MillerLandmark
Audit of the dependency-free JS crypto libraries (incl. bn254) that many wallets and web apps depend on.
- Cryptographic libraries
- Signatures
Cure53
Audit - 2024
OpenZeppelin Contracts cryptography utilitiesLandmark
Widely used Solidity ECDSA, P256, RSA, WebAuthn and Merkle proof code; P256/RSA arrived in v5.1 (2024).
- Signatures
- Smart-contract cryptography
- Cryptographic libraries
OpenZeppelin
Tool - 2024
Plonky3 STARK toolkit audit · PolygonLandmark
Review of the fields, hashes and polynomial commitments in Plonky3, a toolkit many zkVMs build on.
- ZK proofs
- Hashing & commitments
Least Authority
Audit - 2024
Barretenberg bigfield proof circuit assessment · Aztec
Review of non-native field arithmetic gadgets in Aztec's prover stack, a common source of soundness bugs.
- ZK proofs
- Cryptographic libraries
Zellic
Audit - 2024
Barretenberg bigfield security review · Aztec
Found two criticals in bigfield non-native arithmetic (unconstrained bit in pow, limb invariant); Zellic also reviewed it.
- ZK proofs
- Cryptographic libraries
Spearbit / Cantina
Audit - 2024
Blobstream X zero-knowledge assessment · Celestia
ZK light-client circuits relaying Celestia data roots to Ethereum; relevant to bridge and DA builders.
- ZK proofs
- Bridges & light clients
Zellic
Audit - 2024
BLS12-381 in halo2-ecc audit · ChainSafe
In-circuit BLS12-381 arithmetic for verifying BLS signatures inside halo2, as used by ZK light clients.
- ZK proofs
- Signatures
- Bridges & light clients
Veridise
Audit - 2024
Celestia BlobstreamX security assessment · Celestia
Contract-level review of BlobstreamX (gateway, function registry); two informational findings. Circuits not named in scope.
- Bridges & light clients
- Smart-contract cryptography
OtterSec
Audit - 2024
Cheesecloth: proving software vulnerabilities in zero knowledge · DARPA (SIEVE)
Compiles C/C++/Rust into ZK circuits; demonstrated on Heartbleed and an FFmpeg bug.
- ZK proofs
Galois
Research - 2024
clean: Lean DSL for formally verified ZK circuits
Embedded Lean framework for writing circuits (AIR, PLONK, R1CS) with machine-checked proofs.
- ZK proofs
- Formal verification
zkSecurity
Tool - 2024
crypto-condor test suite for cryptographic primitives
Open-source compliance tester for primitive implementations (incl. ML-KEM/ML-DSA) using test vectors.
- Cryptographic libraries
- Post-quantum
Quarkslab
Tool - 2024
DendrETH Plonky2 beacon light client audit · Metacraft Labs
Review of a ZK light client proving beacon-chain state in Plonky2, plus contracts integrating it with Lido and Diva.
- ZK proofs
- Bridges & light clients
Veridise
Audit - 2024
ExpressVPN Lightway protocol audit · ExpressVPN
Review of a Rust VPN protocol built on wolfSSL bindings; a template for secure-channel protocol audits.
- TLS & secure channels
Cure53
Audit - 2024
F5OS-A Cryptographic Module, FIPS 140-3 cert #4883 · F5
Level 2 FIPS 140-3 validation of a network appliance crypto module; atsec listed as testing lab.
- Cryptographic libraries
- TLS & secure channels
atsec information security
Certification - 2024
Formally verifying Kyber Episode V: IND-CCA security of ML-KEM in EasyCrypt
Crypto 2024 machine-checked IND-CCA proof of ML-KEM linked to Jasmin code; 14 authors, one from PQShield (P.-Y. Strub).
- Post-quantum
- Formal verification
PQShield (advisory)
Research - 2024
LatticeFold / LatticeFold+ proof-of-concept implementation
Proof-of-concept Rust implementation of Boneh-Chen lattice folding with Ajtai commitments; not reviewed for production use.
- ZK proofs
- Post-quantum
- 2024
LLZK: MLIR intermediate representation for ZK circuits
Open IR that lets analysis tools work across ZK circuit languages.
- ZK proofs
Veridise
Tool - 2024
Nym apps, VPN and cryptography audit (Sphinx, zk-nym, offline eCash) · Nym Technologies
Covers mixnet Sphinx packets and Coconut-based anonymous credentials alongside app pentests.
- ZK proofs
- Messaging & E2EE
- Signatures
Cure53
Audit - 2024
o1js ZK framework audit · o1Labs
Constraint-level review of Mina's TypeScript ZK framework and its field encodings.
- ZK proofs
- Cryptographic libraries
Veridise
Audit - 2024
OpenSSL security assessment (OSTIF) · OpenSSL
OSTIF-organised review of OpenSSL 3's provider architecture and new primitives (KDFs, SIV, Blake2); the TLS stack was not the focus.
- Cryptographic libraries
Trail of Bits
Audit - 2024
openzeppelin-crypto Rust crate (Stylus)
Open-source no_std field, curve, EdDSA, Pedersen and Poseidon2 code for Arbitrum Stylus contracts.
- Cryptographic libraries
- Hashing & commitments
- Signatures
OpenZeppelin
Tool - 2024
Plonky2 BN254 scalar-multiplication and Keccak256 circuits · Intmax
Gadget-level review of non-native curve and Keccak circuits with cross-table lookups; 3 criticals fixed.
- ZK proofs
- Hashing & commitments
- Cryptographic libraries
ChainSecurity
Audit - 2024
Qualcomm TEE Software Cryptographic Library, FIPS 140-3 cert #4809 · Qualcomm Technologies
FIPS 140-3 validation of a TEE crypto library (AES, ECDSA, RSA, DRBG) tested by atsec as the accredited lab.
- Cryptographic libraries
- Key management & HSM
atsec information security
Certification - 2024
Raccoon: a masking-friendly signature proven in the probing model
CRYPTO 2024 masking-friendly lattice signature with t-probing proofs, submitted to NIST's extra-signature call; with ANSSI.
- Post-quantum
- Signatures
- Side-channel & hardware
PQShield (advisory)
Research - 2024
SolBLS BLS signature library assessment · Warlock Labs
On-chain BLS verification library review; a reference for teams verifying pairing-based signatures in Solidity.
- Signatures
- Smart-contract cryptography
Zellic
Audit - 2024
SP1 zkVM design review (register-memory aliasing) · Succinct Labs
Focused review of SP1's register-memory aliasing and RISC-V spec compliance; not a full audit of the SP1 implementation.
- ZK proofs
Zellic
Audit - 2024
SSV-DKG tool limited code review · SSV Labs
DKG tooling for distributed validators: missing result-signature check, TLS default, PKCS#1 v1.5 share encryption.
- MPC / threshold signatures
- Key management & HSM
- TLS & secure channels
ChainSecurity
Audit - 2024
Succinct SP1 zkVM audit competition · Succinct Labs
Crowdsourced competition on SP1's AIRs, precompiles and verifier (65 submissions); no consolidated report is published.
- ZK proofs
Spearbit / Cantina
Audit - 2024
Threshold Raccoon: practical lattice threshold signatures
Eurocrypt 2024 threshold signatures from standard lattice assumptions; five PQShield authors plus one from XWiki/CryptPad.
- Post-quantum
- MPC / threshold signatures
- Signatures
PQShield (advisory)
Research - 2024
Universal Proof Aggregator circuit assessment · Nebra
Review of recursive proof-aggregation circuits; relevant to anyone verifying many Groth16 proofs at once.
- ZK proofs
Zellic
Audit - 2024
World SMPC iris-matching protocol audit (second review) · Tools for Humanity (World)
Audit of a three-node secure multi-party computation protocol matching biometrics against secret-shared data.
- MPC / threshold signatures
Least Authority
Audit - 2024
ZK Compression v1 audit (incl. groth16-solana) · Light Protocol
Audit of Solana ZK Compression programs with the groth16-solana verifier crate in scope; 30 findings reported.
- ZK proofs
- Hashing & commitments
OtterSec
Audit - 2024
zkbugs: reproducible ZK circuit vulnerabilities
Open dataset reproducing real ZK circuit bugs, useful for training reviewers and benchmarking tools.
- ZK proofs
zkSecurity
Tool - 2023
Automated detection of under-constrained ZK circuits (QED², PLDI 2023)Landmark
With UT Austin, UCSB, 0xPARC and others: QED2 resolved 70% of 163 Circom circuits and found 8 new bugs.
- ZK proofs
- Formal verification
Veridise
Research - 2023
c-kzg-4844 and go-kzg-4844 libraries review · Ethereum FoundationLandmark
Pre-Dencun review of the C and Go KZG libraries Ethereum clients use for blobs; found a BLS12-381 point deserialisation bug.
- Hashing & commitments
- Cryptographic libraries
Sigma Prime
Audit - 2023
Herodotus CairoLib (MPT, MMR, Keccak) assessment · HerodotusLandmark
Storage-proof primitives in Cairo; a critical MPT verify bug let forged keys pass. Useful for proof-of-state builders.
- Hashing & commitments
- Bridges & light clients
- Cryptographic libraries
ChainSecurity
Audit - 2023
Polynonce: a novel ECDSA nonce-recurrence attackLandmark
New attack on polynomially related ECDSA nonces; recovered 773 Bitcoin keys from public chain data (DEF CON 31).
- Signatures
- Randomness
- Wallets
Kudelski Security
Research - 2023
Scroll zkEVM circuits, Part 1 (with KALOS) · ScrollLandmark
Halo2 zkEVM circuit assessment (with KALOS); a reference for under-constrained circuit findings in zkEVMs.
- ZK proofs
Zellic
Audit - 2023
zkLogin circuits and trusted-setup ceremony audit · Mysten LabsLandmark
Audit of Circom circuits proving OAuth (JWT) logins for Sui wallets, plus patches to the Groth16 ceremony tooling.
- ZK proofs
- Wallets
zkSecurity
Audit - 2023
Auditable Key Directory (AKD) implementation review · Meta
Review of Meta's open-source key-transparency library behind WhatsApp's key directory; the WhatsApp integration was out of scope.
- Messaging & E2EE
- Hashing & commitments
- 2023
Charon distributed validator protocol review · Obol
Threshold BLS validator middleware; flagged missing commitment-length checks in the Kryptology DKG dependency.
- MPC / threshold signatures
- Signatures
Sigma Prime
Audit - 2023
Chronicle Scribe Schnorr-aggregation oracle · Chronicle
On-chain secp256k1 Schnorr multi-signature verification for oracles (scheme design itself out of scope).
- Signatures
- Smart-contract cryptography
ChainSecurity
Audit - 2023
Daimo P256Verifier audit · Daimo
Solidity ECDSA verifier for P-256 (secp256r1), designed as a drop-in for the proposed EIP-7212 precompile.
- Signatures
- Smart-contract cryptography
Veridise
Audit - 2023
DC4BC batch BLSToExecutionChange signing review · Lido
Review of the threshold-BLS DKG tooling Lido used to sign its validators' BLSToExecutionChange messages.
- MPC / threshold signatures
- Key management & HSM
Sigma Prime
Audit - 2023
Discord DAVE end-to-end encryption protocol design review · Discord
Design review of Discord's MLS-based E2EE for audio/video calls; a reference for group-messaging protocol reviews.
- Messaging & E2EE
Trail of Bits
Audit - 2023
drand tlock timelock encryption audit · Protocol Labs (drand)
Review of tlock/tlock-js identity-based timelock encryption built on the drand BLS randomness beacon.
- Signatures
- Randomness
- Cryptographic libraries
Kudelski Security
Audit - 2023
Ente cryptography design and code review · Ente Technologies
White-box review of an end-to-end encrypted photo storage design and its clients.
- Messaging & E2EE
- Key management & HSM
Cure53
Audit - 2023
go-tuf implementation code review · OSTIF
Client-focused review of the Go implementation of TUF, the framework for signed software updates.
- Signatures
- Key management & HSM
X41 D-Sec
Audit - 2023
Herodotus on Starknet storage-proof contracts · Herodotus
L1-to-Starknet header and fact registry review; an MMR flaw let proofs verify against inner nodes.
- Hashing & commitments
- Bridges & light clients
ChainSecurity
Audit - 2023
in-toto framework and specification audit · OSTIF
Spec and Python/Go code review of signed supply-chain attestations.
- Signatures
X41 D-Sec
Audit - 2023
Lattice-free half-half nonce attack on Bitcoin and Ethereum
Adapts Polynonce to half-half nonce generation; recovered 110 Bitcoin private keys and none from Ethereum.
- Signatures
- Randomness
Kudelski Security
Research - 2023
Linea PLONK verifier contracts audit · Linea (Consensys)
On-chain PLONK verifier review that surfaced one critical issue; useful for teams shipping generated verifiers.
- ZK proofs
- Smart-contract cryptography
OpenZeppelin
Audit - 2023
Mina Pickles recursive zk-SNARK audit · Mina Foundation
Review of the inductive SNARK composition system behind Mina's succinct blockchain.
- ZK proofs
Least Authority
Audit - 2023
Mysten zkLogin review · Mysten Labs
Listed on OtterSec's public reports index (osec.io/reports) under this title and date.
- ZK proofs
OtterSec
Audit - 2023
NIP44 encryption spec and implementations audit · Paul Miller
Spec review plus JS, Go and Rust code audits of Nostr's NIP-44 message-encryption scheme.
- Messaging & E2EE
- Cryptographic libraries
Cure53
Audit - 2023
Penumbra R1CS circuits and ZK proofs implementation review · Penumbra Labs
Circuit-level review of R1CS gadgets (decaf377, Poseidon377) in a shielded-transaction chain.
- ZK proofs
- 2023
Polygon zkEVM: Cryptography (pil-stark, proverjs) · Polygon (Agglayer)
Dedicated review of the PIL-STARK proving stack; shows how they split cryptography from protocol review.
- ZK proofs
- Cryptographic libraries
Spearbit / Cantina
Audit - 2023
Polynonce ECDSA attack implementation
Open-source code to test signature sets for related-nonce weaknesses.
- Signatures
- Randomness
- 2023
Privy Shamir secret sharing library audit · Horkos, Inc. (Privy)
Focused crypto review of Privy's TypeScript Shamir secret-sharing library for splitting keys among parties.
- Key management & HSM
- Cryptographic libraries
Cure53
Audit - 2023
risczero-fv: Lean formalisation of RISC Zero circuits
Lean models of Zirgen circuits with constraint-to-spec proofs (decoder, IsZero, OneHot); shows circuit FV method.
- Formal verification
- ZK proofs
- 2023
Safeheron MPC-ECDSA algorithm audit · Safeheron
Threshold-ECDSA review for an MPC custody provider.
- MPC / threshold signatures
- Wallets
Least Authority
Audit - 2023
SN200 secure element with crypto library, CC EAL6+ evaluation · NXP Semiconductors
NSCIB EAL6+ certification report (Mar 2023) naming Riscure as evaluation facility for an NXP secure element.
- Side-channel & hardware
- Key management & HSM
- Cryptographic libraries
Keysight (Riscure)
Certification - 2023
Zcash FROST threshold signature security assessment · Zcash Foundation
Audit of the Rust FROST implementation tracking the IETF CFRG FROST draft; relevant to Schnorr threshold signing.
- MPC / threshold signatures
- Signatures
- 2023
zk-token-sdk (confidential transfers) audit · Solana Foundation
ElGamal and sigma-proof library behind Token-2022 confidential transfers; two critical fee-proof findings.
- ZK proofs
- Cryptographic libraries
OtterSec
Audit - 2023
zkSync snark-wrapper review (Boojum, rescue-poseidon) · Matter Labs
Review of the wrapper compressing Boojum STARK proofs into a SNARK for L1 verification.
- ZK proofs
- Hashing & commitments
Spearbit / Cantina
Audit - 2022
Frozen Heart: weak Fiat-Shamir in Girault, Bulletproofs and PlonKLandmark
Named a bug class (insecure Fiat-Shamir) found across gnark, SnarkJS, Dusk PlonK and others; now a standard ZK audit check.
- ZK proofs
Trail of Bits
Vulnerability disclosure - 2022
Polygon zkEVM: Protocol (ROM and prover), engagement 1 · Polygon (Agglayer)Landmark
Pre-mainnet review of zkEVM ROM and prover code with 7 criticals fixed; a reference for zkEVM attack surfaces.
- ZK proofs
Spearbit / Cantina
Audit - 2022
The Update Framework (TUF) source code audit · OSTIFLandmark
Audit of the python-tuf client workflow and Metadata API, the reference for signed software-update security.
- Signatures
- Key management & HSM
X41 D-Sec
Audit - 2022
AMIS HTSS hierarchical threshold signatures audit (CGGMP, FROST) · AMIS Technologies
Audit of Go threshold ECDSA (CGGMP) and threshold EdDSA (FROST) implementations with hierarchical shares.
- MPC / threshold signatures
- Signatures
Kudelski Security
Audit - 2022
Circomspect static analyzer for Circom circuits
Open-source linter that flags under-constrained signals and risky patterns in Circom ZK circuits.
- ZK proofs
Trail of Bits
Tool - 2022
ECDSA signature malleability advisory (CVE-2022-35961)
Compact EIP-2098 signatures let used signatures be replayed; a lesson in signature-uniqueness assumptions.
- Signatures
- Smart-contract cryptography
OpenZeppelin
Vulnerability disclosure - 2022
KZG Powers of Tau ceremony review · Ethereum Foundation
Review of the EIP-4844 trusted-setup sequencer; relevant to anyone running a public setup ceremony.
- Hashing & commitments
- Randomness
Sigma Prime
Audit - 2022
Open educational text that builds zk-SNARKs step by step with pen-and-paper examples.
- ZK proofs
Least Authority
Tool - 2022
Picus under-constrained circuit checker
Open-source checker for under-constrained signals in Circom, R1CS and gnark circuits.
- ZK proofs
- Formal verification
Veridise
Tool - 2021
BLST BLS12-381 library cryptographic implementation review · Supranational / Protocol Labs / Ethereum FoundationLandmark
Review of blst's hash-to-curve and BLS signature code, commissioned jointly by Supranational, Protocol Labs and the Ethereum Foundation.
- Signatures
- Cryptographic libraries
- Hashing & commitments
- 2021
Verified Cryptographic Code for Everybody: SAW proofs of AES-256-GCM and SHA-384 in AWS-LC · AWSLandmark
With AWS (CAV 2021): memory-safety and functional-correctness proofs of AES-256-GCM and SHA-384 C/x86 code in AWS-LC.
- Formal verification
- Cryptographic libraries
Galois
Research - 2021
Zcash NU5 (Orchard) cryptography review · Electric Coin Co.Landmark
Spec and code review of Zcash's NU5 (Orchard) upgrade: Pasta curves, RedPallas, note encryption. The Orchard circuit was out of scope.
- Signatures
- Hashing & commitments
- Cryptographic libraries
- 2021
BASALISC: hardware acceleration for FHE (DARPA DPRIVE) · DARPA
DARPA DPRIVE project (awarded March 2021) with KU Leuven, U. Arkansas and Verilab to build an FHE hardware accelerator.
- FHE
- Side-channel & hardware
Galois
Research - 2021
ING ecdsa-mpc threshold signature library audit · ING
Rust threshold-ECDSA review covering hashing, randomness, secret erasure and constant-time behaviour.
- MPC / threshold signatures
- Randomness
- Side-channel & hardware
Kudelski Security
Audit - 2021
RISC-V scalar crypto, entropy source and constant-time extensions · RISC-V International
PQShield staff were main contributors, within the RISC-V Crypto Task Group, to the scalar crypto, entropy and constant-time extensions.
- Side-channel & hardware
- Randomness
- Cryptographic libraries
PQShield (advisory)
Standard / spec - 2021
SN220 secure element with crypto library, CC EAL6+ evaluation · NXP Semiconductors
EAL6+ secure-element certification with Riscure as ITSEF; shows smart-card-grade attack testing.
- Side-channel & hardware
- Key management & HSM
- Cryptographic libraries
Keysight (Riscure)
Certification - 2021
WhatsApp end-to-end encrypted backups security assessment · WhatsApp
Assessment of the HSM-based key vault behind WhatsApp's end-to-end encrypted backups; 23 issues found in initial testing.
- Key management & HSM
- Messaging & E2EE
- 2021
ZKDocs: implementation guide to ZK and related primitives
Open documentation of common pitfalls in non-standard protocols (Fiat-Shamir, Paillier, Shamir sharing) drawn from audits.
- ZK proofs
- MPC / threshold signatures
Trail of Bits
Tool - 2020
blst BLS12-381 library formal verification · Supranational / Ethereum Foundation / Protocol LabsLandmark
Public Cryptol/SAW specs and proofs for blst, incl. hand-written x86 field arithmetic; README tracks proof coverage.
- Formal verification
- Signatures
- Cryptographic libraries
Galois
Audit - 2020
drand distributed randomness beacon review · Protocol Labs (Filecoin)Landmark
Threshold-BLS beacon and DKG review; found a rogue-key attack and a replay attack enabling node eviction in the DKG.
- Randomness
- MPC / threshold signatures
- Signatures
Sigma Prime
Audit - 2020
rustls TLS library security review · CNCFLandmark
Review of rustls and its ring and webpki dependencies, a memory-safe TLS stack used widely in Rust.
- TLS & secure channels
- Cryptographic libraries
Cure53
Audit - 2020
Apache Milagro MPC threshold ECDSA cryptographic assessment · Qredo
Early public review of an MPC library implementing Gennaro-Goldfeder threshold ECDSA (Apache Milagro MPC).
- MPC / threshold signatures
- Signatures
- 2020
FiSim fault-injection simulator
Open-source Unicorn-based simulator for testing secure-boot code against instruction-skip and corruption faults.
- Side-channel & hardware
- 2020
herumi mcl and bls pairing libraries assessment · Ethereum Foundation
Assessment of the herumi BLS12-381 pairing and BLS signature libraries for use in Ethereum 2.0 clients.
- Signatures
- Cryptographic libraries
Quarkslab
Audit - 2020
Monocypher crypto library audit · Monocypher maintainer (funded by Open Technology Fund)
White-box audit of Monocypher 3.1.1, a small portable C crypto library, incl. its optional Ed25519 module.
- Cryptographic libraries
- Signatures
Cure53
Audit - 2020
RNP OpenPGP library and Thunderbird integration audit · Mozilla (MOSS)
Audit of the OpenPGP library Thunderbird adopted for built-in email encryption.
- Messaging & E2EE
- Cryptographic libraries
Cure53
Audit - 2019
Binance tss-lib threshold ECDSA security audit · BinanceLandmark
Static audit of Binance's open-source tss-lib threshold ECDSA library: Paillier, range proofs, Schnorr proofs and VSS.
- MPC / threshold signatures
- ZK proofs
- Wallets
Kudelski Security
Audit - 2019
dalek-cryptography libraries evaluation (curve25519-dalek, bulletproofs, subtle) · Tari Labs
Review of the Rust curve25519 and Bulletproofs crates that many wallets and protocols depend on.
- Cryptographic libraries
- ZK proofs
- Side-channel & hardware
Quarkslab
Audit - 2019
Hardware-Backed Heist: extracting ECDSA keys from Qualcomm's TrustZone
Cache side-channel recovered a 256-bit key from Android's hardware keystore; presented at ACM CCS 2019.
- Side-channel & hardware
- Key management & HSM
- Signatures
- 2019
Jitter RNG with SP 800-90B compliance
CPU-jitter entropy source by atsec colleague Stephan Mueller; atsec announced its SP 800-90B-compliant release in 2019.
- Randomness
- Cryptographic libraries
- 2019
RandomX proof-of-work audit · Monero Labs (via OSTIF)
Design and code review of Monero's CPU-oriented PoW, with Secfault Security, incl. ASIC/FPGA feasibility analysis.
- Hashing & commitments
X41 D-Sec
Audit - 2018
ACVP Proxy client for NIST algorithm testing
Open-source C client for fetching ACVP test vectors and submitting results; developed by atsec, hosted on a staff GitHub account.
- Cryptographic libraries
- 2018
Continuous formal verification of Amazon s2n (HMAC and DRBG) · Amazon
With AWS (CAV 2018): proofs that s2n's HMAC and DRBG match Cryptol specs, re-run automatically as code changes.
- Formal verification
- TLS & secure channels
- Randomness
Galois
Research - 2018
Monero Bulletproofs implementation evaluation · Monero Research Lab / OSTIF
Early public audit of a production range-proof implementation before Monero's Bulletproofs rollout.
- ZK proofs
- Hashing & commitments
Quarkslab
Audit - 2018
Smartcard driver vulnerabilities (OpenSC, Yubico PIV, pam_pkcs11 and others)
Fuzzing found memory-corruption bugs triggered by malicious cards in common smartcard middleware (DEF CON 2018).
- Key management & HSM
- Side-channel & hardware
X41 D-Sec
Vulnerability disclosure - 2018
swanky: Rust libraries for secure computation
Open-source MPC and ZK building blocks (garbling, Diet Mac'n'Cheese, VOLE-in-the-head) from Galois research.
- MPC / threshold signatures
- ZK proofs
Galois
Tool - 2018
theQRL security review (XMSS-based ledger) · The Quantum Resistant Ledger
Early review of a production hash-based (XMSS) signature deployment, incl. key-index reuse risks.
- Post-quantum
- Signatures
- Wallets
X41 D-Sec
Audit - 2018
Wire security review phase 2: web app and calling key establishment (with Kudelski) · Wire Swiss
Joint review with Kudelski of how Wire calling establishes SRTP keys via Proteus, plus the Wire web app.
- Messaging & E2EE
X41 D-Sec
Audit - 2017
Falcon signature scheme (basis of NIST FN-DSA)Landmark
Multi-author NIST lattice signature (10 designers incl. Thomas Prest, now PQShield) selected by NIST in 2022; basis of FN-DSA.
- Post-quantum
- Signatures
PQShield (advisory)
Standard / spec - 2017
CDF: crypto differential fuzzing
Differential testing tool for crypto implementations (correctness, compliance, timing leaks); Black Hat USA 2017.
- Cryptographic libraries
- Side-channel & hardware
- 2017
Wire Proteus protocol and Cryptobox review (with Kudelski) · Wire Swiss
Joint review with Kudelski Security of Wire's Proteus messaging protocol and Cryptobox, in Rust and CoffeeScript.
- Messaging & E2EE
- Cryptographic libraries
X41 D-Sec
Audit - 2017
Wire Proteus protocol and Cryptobox security review (with X41 D-Sec) · Wire Swiss
Joint review with X41 D-Sec of Wire's Proteus messaging protocol and Cryptobox, in Rust and CoffeeScript.
- Messaging & E2EE
- Cryptographic libraries
Kudelski Security
Audit - 2016
Bypassing secure boot using fault injection (Black Hat EU 2016)Landmark
Riscure talk (Timmers, Spruyt) showing voltage glitching can skip signature checks in Cortex-A9 secure boot; covers countermeasures.
- Side-channel & hardware
- Signatures
Keysight (Riscure)
Research - 2016
Jlsca side-channel analysis toolkit
Open-source Julia toolkit for CPA, LRA and MIA attacks on AES, DES and SHA-1 (HMAC), incl. white-box models.
- Side-channel & hardware
- Cryptographic libraries
- 2016
VeraCrypt 1.18 security assessment · OSTIF
Public audit of the widely used disk-encryption tool; shows bootloader, KDF and crypto-implementation review.
- Cryptographic libraries
- Key management & HSM
Quarkslab
Audit - 2015
SAW (Software Analysis Workbench)
Proves C (LLVM), Java, Rust and x86 code equivalent to Cryptol specs; used for the AWS-LC, s2n and blst proofs.
- Formal verification
- Cryptographic libraries
Galois
Tool - 2014
Cryptol specification language for cryptography
Executable spec language used to write reference models of primitives that implementations are proved against.
- Formal verification
- Cryptographic libraries
Galois
Tool
Nothing matches these filters.
How this list is built
Researchers drew each entry from public evidence. A second person who did not write it then opened every report, checked authorship, scope and dates, and traced each strength and watch-out to a source. Pricing is an editorial estimate relative to the other firms. Nobody pays to be listed.
- Each firm’s public audit-report repository, read at the report level.
- Client disclosures, conference research (Real World Crypto, IACR) and the firms’ own tools.
- Independent coverage, including post-audit incidents where reputably reported. An audit is not a guarantee of security.
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