Smart Contract Security

Dawn Vault's security model is built on three principles: non-custodial architecture, permission separation, and adapter whitelisting.

Non-Custodial Design

All vault assets are held in Program Derived Accounts (PDAs) controlled by the Vault Program — not by any individual or multisig wallet.

  • No single person can withdraw vault funds

  • Assets can only move through program-defined operations (deposit, withdraw, rebalance via adapters)

  • Depositors can always withdraw by burning their LP tokens

Permission Separation

The vault separates two levels of authority:

Role
Permissions
Holder

Admin

Add/remove adapters, change fees, replace manager, calibrate HWM

Multisig (Squads)

Manager

Execute rebalances, harvest fees, manage positions via adapters

Manager Bot

The Manager Bot cannot:

  • Add new adapters (only Admin)

  • Change fee parameters (only Admin)

  • Withdraw to arbitrary addresses (PDA-enforced)

  • Bypass adapter whitelisting

Adapter Whitelisting

External protocol interactions are gated through Adapter Programs:

  • Only whitelisted adapters can access vault funds

  • Each adapter is a purpose-built program for a specific protocol

  • Adding a new adapter requires Admin (multisig) approval

  • Adapter code is auditable on-chain

Voltr Framework

Dawn Vault is built on the Voltr vault framework by Ranger Finance:

  • Battle-tested with multiple vaults in production

  • LP token accounting with share price model

  • Built-in fee management (Performance, Management, Issuance, Redemption)

  • High Water Mark (HWM) tracking for fair performance fee calculation

  • Locked Profit mechanism (Yearn V2-style) to prevent sandwich/frontrun attacks

Anti-MEV Protections

  • Locked Profit: Profits are released linearly over a configurable duration, preventing attackers from depositing right before a profit event and withdrawing immediately after

  • Redemption Fee: 0.1% withdrawal fee makes sandwich attacks unprofitable

  • Priority Fee Management: Critical transactions use elevated priority fees to ensure timely execution

Future Security Roadmap

  • Formal smart contract audit by third-party security firm

  • Bug bounty program

  • On-chain monitoring and alerting integration

  • Multi-venue CEX integration to reduce single-exchange dependency

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