CVE-2018-13543 in GemstoneToken
Summary
by MITRE
The mintToken function of a smart contract implementation for GemstoneToken, 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 • 02/27/2020
The vulnerability identified in CVE-2018-13543 represents a critical integer overflow flaw within the mintToken function of the GemstoneToken smart contract deployed on the Ethereum blockchain. This vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and arithmetic overflow handling in the contract's code implementation, creating a fundamental security weakness that directly impacts the token's integrity and user funds. The flaw specifically manifests when the mintToken function processes token minting operations, allowing unauthorized manipulation of user balances through controlled overflow conditions.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through the manipulation of integer arithmetic operations within the smart contract's mintToken function, where the contract fails to properly validate or constrain the values being processed. This allows an attacker with owner privileges to execute a controlled overflow that can result in arbitrary balance manipulation for any user account within the token ecosystem. The vulnerability directly maps to CWE-190, Integer Overflow or Wraparound, which describes the condition where an integer value exceeds its maximum representable value and wraps around to a smaller value. The overflow condition typically arises when the contract performs arithmetic operations without proper bounds checking, particularly when dealing with token supply calculations and balance updates.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple balance manipulation to potentially compromise the entire token economy and user trust within the GemstoneToken ecosystem. An attacker could theoretically inflate user balances to arbitrary values, creating an artificial inflation of token distribution that could undermine the token's value proposition and market stability. The vulnerability's severity is amplified by the fact that it operates at the contract owner level, meaning that a compromised owner account could result in immediate and widespread financial damage to token holders. This type of vulnerability falls under the ATT&CK framework's T1059.001 technique for Command and Scripting Interpreter, as it involves the exploitation of code-level vulnerabilities to manipulate system state through legitimate contract functions.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate code remediation including the implementation of proper integer overflow checks and bounds validation within the mintToken function. The recommended approach involves adding explicit validation checks before any arithmetic operations, ensuring that values remain within acceptable ranges and implementing safe math libraries or explicit overflow detection mechanisms. Additionally, contract owners should conduct thorough security audits and consider implementing multi-signature ownership controls to reduce the risk of unauthorized exploitation. The vulnerability highlights the importance of comprehensive smart contract testing including edge case scenarios and formal verification methods to prevent similar issues in future implementations. Organizations should also implement continuous monitoring systems to detect anomalous balance changes and unauthorized minting operations that could indicate exploitation attempts.