CVE-2018-13571 in GoramCoin
Summary
by MITRE
The mintToken function of a smart contract implementation for GoramCoin, 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 as CVE-2018-13571 represents a critical integer overflow flaw within the mintToken function of GoramCoin's smart contract implementation on the Ethereum blockchain. This vulnerability stems from improper input validation and arithmetic operation handling within the contract's code, specifically affecting the token's minting mechanism. The flaw allows the contract owner to manipulate user balances arbitrarily by exploiting an unchecked integer overflow condition that occurs during token creation or distribution processes. Such a vulnerability fundamentally undermines the integrity of the token economy by enabling unauthorized balance manipulation that can be exploited for financial gain or system disruption.
The technical execution of this vulnerability occurs through the mintToken function where the contract owner can pass malicious parameters that trigger integer overflow conditions. When the smart contract processes token minting operations without proper bounds checking, the arithmetic operations can exceed the maximum value that can be stored in the designated data type, causing the value to wrap around to an unexpected lower value. This overflow condition creates a pathway for the contract owner to manipulate the balance of any user account to an arbitrary value, effectively allowing them to create unlimited tokens or manipulate existing balances. The vulnerability directly maps to CWE-190, which describes integer overflow and underflow conditions, and represents a classic example of improper input validation in smart contract environments.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple financial manipulation to encompass broader security implications for the entire token ecosystem. An attacker with owner privileges can potentially drain funds from other users, create artificial scarcity, or manipulate token distributions to gain unfair advantages in token-based markets or governance systems. The vulnerability also poses risks to smart contract interoperability since manipulated balances can affect other contracts that depend on accurate token balances for their operations. Additionally, the exploitability of this vulnerability means that any user who interacts with the contract could be affected by the manipulated balances, potentially causing cascading failures in decentralized applications that rely on GoramCoin's token value. The security implications align with ATT&CK technique T1499, which covers resource hijacking through unauthorized access to system resources.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate code remediation through proper input validation and overflow checking mechanisms. The smart contract implementation must incorporate bounds checking before any arithmetic operations that could potentially overflow, using techniques such as require statements to validate input parameters or employing libraries that provide safe arithmetic operations. Contract owners should implement proper access controls and consider using multi-signature wallets for critical operations to reduce the risk of unauthorized exploitation. The fix should also include comprehensive testing procedures including fuzz testing and formal verification to identify similar vulnerabilities in other contract functions. Additionally, the community should implement proper audit processes and consider using established smart contract frameworks that provide built-in protections against integer overflow conditions. Regular security audits and code reviews are essential to prevent similar vulnerabilities from being introduced in future contract updates or modifications.