ZK/SEC Research notes from zkSecurity
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Public report of Darkfi circuits and crypto audit

Darkfi audit

In the week from February 12th to February 16th 2024, zkSecurity performed a security audit of Darkfi's built-in contracts and circuits. The audit was performed on the public darkfi repository.

You can find the full report here.

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The Year Finding and Exploiting Bugs Became Cheap, and What to Do About It

The economics of security have changed. AI has made finding and exploiting bugs cheaper, including in cryptographic and zero-knowledge code, while validation and remediation remain slow. Here is our view of what happened, what comes next, and how teams should change the way they secure their stack to defend against AI-assisted attackers.

Stefanos Chaliasos · September 07, 2026

Variants of KZG: Part V, Multilinear Commitments with Mercury

In this final post of the series, we extend univariate KZG commitments to multilinear polynomials through Mercury. Building on Gemini, we fold half of the variables at once, use polynomial division to bind this large fold to the original commitment and reduce the remaining multilinear evaluations to a batched inner product check. We then walk through the end-to-end opening protocol. We conclude by examining its proof size, prover cost and verifier cost.

Varun Thakore · August 17, 2026

Variants of KZG: Part IV, Multilinear Commitments with Gemini

In this blog post, we extend univariate KZG commitments to multilinear polynomials through Gemini. We introduce recursive partial evaluations, derive the split-and-fold identity and express each fold as a univariate identity that can be checked using KZG openings. We then walk through the end-to-end opening protocol. We conclude by examining its proof size, prover cost, and verifier cost.

Varun Thakore · August 12, 2026
Recommended

Archetype x zkSecurity - Proof is in the Pudding: Privacy in Payment Networks

In Session 08 of "Proof is in the Pudding," we explore how different networks have approached privacy over the years. From E-Cash and Monero to MobileCoin and Zether, we break down blind signatures, Pedersen commitments, stealth addresses, ring signatures, and more. This session provides a comprehensive tour of the techniques used to break linkability, hide addresses, and obscure transaction data in the name of privacy and safety.

ZK/SEC · January 16, 2026

FRIDA: Data-Availability Sampling from FRI

We've just dropped a blog post exploring the cool world of Ethereum's latest EIP-4844 upgrade and how it tackles the data-availability conundrum with Proto-Danksharding. Get ready to dive into the intricacies of making data more accessible (and less pricey) by using nifty concepts like blobs and polynomial evaluations. Plus, we dish on the role of FRI in data-availability sampling and how it can streamline things even more. Curious? Check out the details and see how this all shapes Ethereum's future!

Mathias Hall-Andersen · June 25, 2024

Become a Halo2 Hero: Master Zero-Knowledge Proofs with Our New Course

We're teaming up with the Zircuit team to bring you a new course on Halo2 development that's perfect for Rust developers eager to dive into creating Halo2 circuits from scratch. No need to be a cryptographer or have prior knowledge of Halo2, PlonK, or zkSNARKs. Our course starts with the basics and guides you through building increasingly complex circuits. By the end, you'll be a Halo Hero! Plus, you'll have access to complete, runnable code examples on GitHub. Ready to start your Halo2 journey? Check it out!

Mathias Hall-Andersen · November 14, 2024
More to explore

zkHack x zkSecurity (Whiteboard Session) - What is Zero-Knowledge (like, actually)?

We're excited to join zkHack's new season of whiteboard sessions, where you'll dive into the real meaning of "Zero Knowledge" with Nicolas Mohnblatt and David Wong. Discover when true zero-knowledge is at play, explore the differences between honest and dishonest verifiers, and understand why adaptive models are preferred. We'll unpack methods for generating hiding commitments and give you a comprehensive overview of the zero-knowledge aspects of PLONK. Don't miss out on this opportunity to expand your understanding of ZK and its various applications!

ZK/SEC · October 04, 2024

Learn Sumcheck, MLE, and HyperPlonk: An Interactive Tutorial with SageMath

A new interactive tutorial on Sumcheck, Multilinear Extensions, and HyperPlonk with complete SageMath implementations and exercises. Go beyond the theory and understand how these protocols actually work by implementing them yourself.

Marco Gaglianese · November 22, 2025

Archetype x zkSecurity - Proof is in the Pudding: The Other Dark Forest (Offchain Public Keys)

In Session 07 of "Proof is in the Pudding," we explore the other dark forest, the realm of offchain public keys. We dive into zkLogin, ZK Email, and ZKPassport, examining how these protocols handle authentication and privacy. We also discuss the issue of unlinkability in privacy protocols and why replacing traditional signature verifications with zero-knowledge proofs could unlock more interesting and powerful ZK products.

ZK/SEC · October 21, 2025