CVE-2018-13157 in CryptonitexCoin
Summary
by MITRE
The mintToken function of a smart contract implementation for CryptonitexCoin, an Ethereum token, has an integer overflow that allows the owner of the contract to set the balance of an arbitrary user to any value.
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Analysis
by VulDB Data Team • 02/25/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-13157 represents a critical integer overflow flaw within the mintToken function of the CryptonitexCoin Ethereum token smart contract implementation. This vulnerability resides in the core functionality that governs token creation and distribution, specifically affecting how the contract handles numeric calculations during token minting operations. The flaw enables malicious actors with contract ownership privileges to manipulate user balances by setting them to arbitrary values, fundamentally compromising the integrity of the token economy and user account balances.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability stems from improper input validation and arithmetic operation handling within the smart contract code. When the mintToken function processes token creation requests, it fails to properly validate or constrain the numeric values involved in balance calculations, creating conditions where integer overflow can occur. This allows an attacker with owner privileges to manipulate the underlying storage mechanisms that track user balances, effectively enabling them to set any user's balance to any desired amount. The vulnerability directly maps to CWE-190, which describes integer overflow and underflow conditions, and specifically relates to CWE-682, which covers incorrect use of arithmetic operations.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends far beyond simple balance manipulation, as it fundamentally undermines the trust and security model of the entire token ecosystem. An attacker with owner access can create unlimited tokens for themselves while simultaneously corrupting other users' balances, potentially leading to complete loss of funds for affected parties. This vulnerability creates conditions where the token's supply mechanism becomes entirely controllable by the malicious actor, enabling them to manipulate token economics and potentially cause market disruption. The implications are particularly severe in decentralized finance contexts where such manipulation could affect liquidity pools, staking mechanisms, and other critical financial operations that depend on accurate balance tracking.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate implementation of proper integer overflow protections within the smart contract code. The recommended approach involves incorporating comprehensive input validation mechanisms that check for potential overflow conditions before performing arithmetic operations, utilizing safe arithmetic libraries, and implementing proper boundary checks on all numeric inputs. Security measures should include thorough code review processes that specifically examine all arithmetic operations and numeric handling within smart contracts, as well as implementing automated testing frameworks that can detect similar vulnerabilities. Organizations should also consider implementing multi-signature ownership mechanisms and regular security audits to prevent unauthorized access to privileged contract functions. The vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of adhering to secure coding practices in blockchain environments where financial consequences of code flaws can be catastrophic, aligning with ATT&CK technique T1548.001 for privilege escalation and T1499.004 for data manipulation in cybersecurity frameworks.