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audit assumption — sub-parser trust (using-words-from pragma) #496

@thedavidmeister

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@thedavidmeister

From the March 2026 audit (general risk / assumption #3):

The parser supports the `using-words-from` pragma, which delegates parsing of unknown words to external sub-parser contracts. The system assumes these sub-parsers are trusted. A malicious or buggy sub-parser can return malformed bytecode that — while potentially caught by the subsequent integrity check — introduces a significant surface area for complexity and edge-case bugs during parsing.

Tracking decisions:

  1. Should sub-parsers run through a stricter post-parse validation (full integrity re-run on the returned bytecode, not just structural)?
  2. Should the trust model be documented explicitly in NatSpec on the pragma and in the integration guide?

Filing this so the trust contract is explicit. Edge cases in sub-parser output that escape integrity checking would be filed as separate vulnerability issues if discovered.

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