mev-beta/docs/CRITICAL_SECURITY_FIXES.md

🚨 Critical Security Fixes Required

BLOCKING PRODUCTION DEPLOYMENT

🔴 Critical Issue #1: Hardcoded Secrets

Problem

• Default encryption keys in source code
• Private key references in configuration
• Environment variables with default values

Files to Fix

• .env.example - Remove default encryption key
• pkg/security/config.go - Remove hardcoded defaults
• All configuration files with sensitive defaults

Solution

# Remove hardcoded values
grep -r "MEV_BOT_ENCRYPTION_KEY.*test123" . --exclude-dir=.git
grep -r "default_private_key" . --exclude-dir=.git

# Implement proper secrets management
export MEV_BOT_ENCRYPTION_KEY=""  # Force user to set
export PRIVATE_KEY_PATH=""        # Force user to set

🔴 Critical Issue #2: Missing Access Controls

Problem

• No authentication on key access methods
• Missing authorization checks
• No audit logging for sensitive operations

Files to Fix

• pkg/security/keymanager.go:145-180
• pkg/arbitrage/executor.go:160-180

Solution

// Add authentication middleware
func (km *KeyManager) GetActivePrivateKey() (*ecdsa.PrivateKey, error) {
    // MUST ADD: Authentication check
    // MUST ADD: IP whitelist validation
    // MUST ADD: Rate limiting
    // MUST ADD: Audit logging
    return km.getActivePrivateKeyInternal()
}

🔴 Critical Issue #3: Race Conditions

Problem

• Concurrent access to shared state without locking
• Counter updates without atomic operations
• Inconsistent state in service statistics

Files to Fix

• pkg/arbitrage/service.go:680-720
• pkg/arbitrage/live_execution_framework.go

Solution

// Add proper synchronization
type ArbitrageService struct {
    // ...existing fields...
    statsMutex sync.RWMutex  // ✅ Already present
    // MUST ADD: Proper locking around ALL shared state access
}

🔴 Critical Issue #4: Incomplete Implementation

Problem

• Hardcoded 5% profit in simulations
• Missing real market data integration
• Static gas estimations

Files to Fix

• pkg/arbitrage/executor.go:440-442
• pkg/math/arbitrage_calculator.go

Solution

// Replace this:
simulation.Profit = new(big.Int).Mul(params.AmountIn, big.NewInt(105)) // 5% profit
simulation.Profit = new(big.Int).Div(simulation.Profit, big.NewInt(100))

// With real calculation:
realProfit, err := ae.calculateRealProfit(ctx, params)
if err != nil {
    return nil, fmt.Errorf("profit calculation failed: %w", err)
}
simulation.Profit = realProfit

🔴 Critical Issue #5: Contract Security

Problem

• No contract address verification
• Missing bytecode validation
• No protection against malicious contracts

Files to Fix

• pkg/arbitrage/executor.go
• Add new pkg/security/contract_validator.go

Solution

// Add contract verification
func (ae *ArbitrageExecutor) verifyContract(address common.Address, expectedBytecodeHash string) error {
    bytecode, err := ae.client.CodeAt(context.Background(), address, nil)
    if err != nil {
        return fmt.Errorf("failed to get contract bytecode: %w", err)
    }

    actualHash := crypto.Keccak256Hash(bytecode).Hex()
    if actualHash != expectedBytecodeHash {
        return fmt.Errorf("contract bytecode mismatch: expected %s, got %s", expectedBytecodeHash, actualHash)
    }

    return nil
}

⚡ Quick Fix Script

#!/bin/bash
# Run this script to identify all critical security issues

echo "🔍 Scanning for critical security issues..."

echo "1. Checking for hardcoded secrets..."
grep -r "test123\|default_key\|changeme" . --exclude-dir=.git

echo "2. Checking for missing authentication..."
grep -r "GetActivePrivateKey\|SignTransaction" pkg/ -A 5 -B 5

echo "3. Checking for race conditions..."
grep -r "statsMutex\|Lock\|Unlock" pkg/ | grep -v "defer"

echo "4. Checking for hardcoded values..."
grep -r "big.NewInt(105)\|5% profit" pkg/

echo "5. Checking for missing contract validation..."
grep -r "NewArbitrageExecutor\|common.HexToAddress" pkg/ | head -10

echo "🚨 CRITICAL: Address all findings before production deployment!"

✅ Verification Checklist

Before production deployment, verify:

• No hardcoded secrets in any file
• Authentication required for all key operations
• All shared state access is properly synchronized
• Real profit calculations implemented
• Contract addresses verified and validated
• Comprehensive audit logging enabled
• Rate limiting implemented
• Integration tests pass with real market data
• Security penetration testing completed
• Emergency stop mechanisms tested

🔒 Status: BLOCKING - Must complete all items before production