Reentrancy Attack Mechanics
Reentrancy attack mechanics involve an attacker repeatedly calling a function in a smart contract before the initial execution is finished. By exploiting the way a contract updates its state, the attacker can trick the contract into repeatedly sending funds or granting permissions before it realizes the previous transaction has already occurred.
This vulnerability typically occurs when a contract calls an external address without properly updating its own internal balances or state variables first. Once the external contract is called, it can trigger a recursive loop that drains the balance of the original contract.
Protecting against reentrancy requires strict adherence to secure coding patterns, such as using reentrancy guards or ensuring that all state changes occur before any external calls are made. This remains one of the most common and damaging types of exploits in the DeFi ecosystem.