CVE-2018-13468 in Cavecoin
Summary
by MITRE
The mintToken function of a smart contract implementation for Cavecoin, 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 • 02/26/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-13468 represents a critical integer overflow flaw within the mintToken function of a Cavecoin Ethereum token smart contract implementation. This vulnerability stems from improper input validation and arithmetic handling within the smart contract code, creating a scenario where the contract owner can manipulate user balances arbitrarily. The flaw specifically manifests when the mintToken function processes token minting operations without adequate overflow checks, allowing malicious or unauthorized manipulation of the token distribution mechanism.
From a technical perspective, the integer overflow occurs due to the lack of boundary validation when performing arithmetic operations on token balances. When the mintToken function executes, it likely performs calculations that exceed the maximum value that can be represented by the underlying data type, causing the value to wrap around to zero or negative values. This behavior enables the contract owner to manipulate the balance of any user account to an arbitrary value, effectively bypassing normal token distribution controls and potentially enabling unauthorized token creation or balance manipulation.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple balance manipulation, as it fundamentally compromises the integrity of the token economy. An attacker with access to the contract owner account can arbitrarily inflate or deflate user balances, potentially leading to economic disruption within the token ecosystem. This vulnerability directly enables scenarios such as creating unlimited tokens, transferring tokens to unauthorized accounts, or manipulating user balances to gain unfair advantages in token-based systems. The implications are particularly severe in decentralized finance applications where such manipulation could lead to significant financial losses for users and undermine trust in the entire token infrastructure.
Security mitigations for this vulnerability should focus on implementing proper integer overflow protection mechanisms within the smart contract code. The recommended approach involves adding comprehensive input validation and boundary checks before any arithmetic operations are performed, ensuring that all token balance calculations remain within acceptable ranges. Additionally, the implementation should utilize secure coding practices such as employing overflow-safe libraries or using require statements to validate inputs before processing. This vulnerability aligns with CWE-190, Integer Overflow or Wraparound, and represents a classic example of how improper input validation can lead to severe security consequences in smart contract environments. The ATT&CK framework categorizes this as a privilege escalation technique, where an attacker with owner privileges can leverage the vulnerability to gain unauthorized control over user assets and manipulate the token distribution mechanism. Organizations implementing similar token contracts should conduct thorough security audits and employ formal verification techniques to identify and remediate such arithmetic overflow vulnerabilities before deployment.