Detecting Cross-Function Reentrancy from EVM Traces
Guesmi, Semia, Piazza, Carla, Gasparetto, Andrea, Rizzo, Matteo, Rossi, Sabina · 2026 · 150 citationsRead the paper
Reentrancy remains one of the most critical vulnerabilities affecting Ethereum smart contracts. While many existing analysis tools focus on detecting classical single-function reentrancy, more complex forms such as cross-function reentrancy are harder to identify because they depend on execution semantics and interactions between multiple functions. In this work, we study reentrancy at the level of Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) execution traces. We extend the TxSpector framework with new Datalog-based detection rules designed to capture cross-function reentrancy patterns. To support this analysis, we also modernize the trace extraction component by adapting it to recent versions of the Ethereum client and updated EVM instructions. The proposed approach is evaluated on real Ethereum on-chain transaction traces. The results show that our method is able to detect cross-function reentrancy behaviors that are not captured by the original TxSpector rules, demonstrating the effectiveness of pattern-based logic detection at the EVM execution level.
What the full text shows
Working prototype- The method successfully detects cross-function reentrancy behaviors that are not captured by the original TxSpector rules. (Evaluated on real Ethereum on-chain transaction traces)
- Setup
- Real Ethereum on-chain transaction traces.
- How
- The authors extended the TxSpector framework by implementing new Datalog-based detection rules and modernizing the trace extraction component to support recent Ethereum client versions and EVM instructions. The approach analyzes EVM execution traces by modeling call depth, call number, and storage access ordering.
- Limitations
- Inherently limited by trace coverage (only analyzes executed paths)
Summarized by Gemma 4 from the open-access full text · 10 Oct 2026. Read it