Ripple - Batch - Smart Contract Assessment - Ripple

1. Introduction

Ripple engaged Halborn to conduct a security assessment on XRP Ledger (XRPL) feature amendments beginning on Jan 31, 2025 and ending on Feb 13, 2025, focusing on PR #5060. The feature introduces a new transaction type Batch that enables atomic execution of multiple transactions, supporting various modes of operation including all-or-nothing, only-one, until-failure, and independent execution patterns.

2. Assessment Summary

The team at Halborn assigned a full-time security engineer to assess the security of the node. The security engineer is a blockchain and smart-contract security expert in advanced penetration testing, smart-contract hacking, and deep knowledge of multiple blockchain protocols.

The scope of this audit encompasses:

• The new Batch transaction type and its fields

• Multi-account transaction signing mechanisms

• Inner transaction security controls

• Fee calculation and processing

• Transaction integrity and atomicity guarantees

3. Test Approach and Methodology

Halborn performed a combination of manual review of the code and automated security testing to balance efficiency, timeliness, practicality, and accuracy in regard to the scope of the Batch Transaction feature security assessment. The following phases and tools were used:

• Research into the architecture, purpose, and use of the Batch Transaction feature through extensive documentation review.

• Manual code review and walkthrough to identify potential logic issues in transaction processing and security controls.

• Security control testing for signature verification, fee processing, and atomic execution guarantees.

• Implementation verification of inner transaction controls and batch mode operations.

• Trust model validation for both single-account and multi-account transaction scenarios.

• Documentation analysis covering security considerations and implementation guidelines.

• Functional testing of transaction processing flows and error handling mechanisms.

• Edge case testing for complex transaction scenarios and failure modes.

• Review of error handling and recovery mechanisms.