Security reviews of core network components #410 - Milestone 8: _(SCU) Smart Contract Upgrading_

Milestone 8: _(SCU) Smart Contract Upgrading_

• Scope: The Smart Contract Upgrading (SCU) mechanism enables the Canton platform to integrate updated smart contract versions into Ledger Transactions. This milestone focuses on providing the security documentation for various SCU-related features, including language extensions, compile-time and upload-time upgrade verification, Topology Aware Package Selection (TAPS), and enhancements to both the protocol and API. The process will involve a comprehensive internal review, followed by an independent external audit and a dedicated period for resolving any identified security vulnerabilities.
• Estimated Delivery: Q1 2027
• Estimated Effort: 13PW
• Selected Independent Auditor: RFQ

| Milestone | Description | Amount | Note | |---|---|---|---| | _(SCU) Smart Contract Upgrading_ | Audit 8 | 700,000 CC | For DA upon completion of audit and remediation of all high-severity findings, and an approximate budget of up to 350,000 CC for the third-party auditor.This section can be repeated multiple times if additional audits are required. |

Total Funding Request: 6,420,000 CC for DA and a budget of up to 3,850,000 CC for the 11 third-party audits.

_Originally posted by @pedrodneves in https://github.com/canton-foundation/canton-dev-fund/issues/410#issuecomment-4907999061_