Bridging Trust: Bishop Fox Completes XLS-38d Audit
Published: 2023-08-24 00:41:52

As we continue to see novel and exciting developments on the XRP Ledger trust and security remain paramount, which is why significant measures are taken to ensure new launches are robust. With each development we see, there is an understanding that users and indeed developers need reassurance that their activity is not vulnerable to risk. To address these concerns, a comprehensive security audit plays a vital role in establishing confidence and verifying the integrity of a project. 

We are excited to announce that a recent milestone has been reached in the development of XLS-38d cross-chain bridging primitive for the XRP Ledger. In an effort to prioritize user safety and ensure the robustness of the cross-chain bridging feature, a [rigorous security audit](https://ripple.com/reports/Ripple-Side-Chains-Assessment-Report-XRPL.pdf) was conducted by Bishop Fox, a leading blockchain security firm.

## Audit Findings

The audit primarily focused on the following facets:

- Identify vulnerabilities in systems and services exposed on the internet-facing services related to the XRP side chains bridging infrastructure.
- Assess the overall security of the rippled bridging protocol, witness server, and RPC interfaces.
- Enumerate any weaknesses or potential vulnerabilities within the rippled XRP bridging feature that could be remediated to improve the feature’s security posture.

The finalized security assessment offered a total of 8 findings (2 medium, 5 low and 1 informational) of which none were deemed critical or major. The Ripple engineering team has since acknowledged the relevant findings and have prepared fixes with a goal of deploying an effective update in the next rippled release.

## XRPL Sidechains: The Pivotal Role of XLS-38d

[XRPL Sidechains](https://dev.to/ripplexdev/xrp-ledger-sidechains-available-on-new-devnet-24ep) enable developers to create their own instance of the XRP Ledger, separate from mainnet. Expert developers that have specific use cases or customizability needs will benefit, as will financial institutions interested in creating permissioned networks that leverage the inherent advantages of the XRPL and XRP liquidity.  

XRPL Sidechains are dependent on the XLS-38d amendment that will enable a cross-chain bridge that will be secured by [witness servers](https://dev.to/ripplexdev/xrp-ledger-sidechains-redesigned-190i). The bridge can move XRP (and issued assets) bi-directionally between the XRPL Mainnet and an XRPL Sidechain.  This cross-chain bridging software will also be used to establish a connection between XRPL Mainnet and the upcoming EVM sidechain. This is an important development that will bring interoperability to the XRP Ledger ecosystem and empower developers with better customization. To ensure this amendment is robust in its ability to support the development of the XRP Ledger, Bishop Fox’s audit was a necessary and effective step.

All developers are welcome to build integrations and test functionalities on this open source technology. Refer to [documentation](https://opensource.ripple.com/docs/xls-38d-cross-chain-bridge/cross-chain-bridges/), and there is an active [Discord](https://discord.com/invite/xrpl) community where developers can share ideas and ask questions to other XRPL community members.