CVE-2018-13642 in SECoin
Summary
by MITRE
The mintToken function of a smart contract implementation for SECoin, 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 • 02/28/2020
The vulnerability identified as CVE-2018-13642 represents a critical integer overflow flaw within the mintToken function of SECoin 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 balance management system. The flaw allows the contract owner to manipulate user balances arbitrarily, creating a fundamental security breach in the token's integrity and user trust mechanisms.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through the mintToken function's handling of integer values during balance updates. When the contract attempts to increment or modify user balances, the integer overflow condition allows the owner to manipulate the underlying data representation to achieve unintended balance values. This type of vulnerability is classified under CWE-190 as an integer overflow or wraparound, which represents a well-known class of software vulnerabilities that can lead to unpredictable behavior and security breaches. The vulnerability directly impacts the contract's ability to maintain accurate and secure token balances, potentially allowing unauthorized manipulation of user accounts.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple balance manipulation to potentially compromise the entire token ecosystem. An attacker with owner privileges can set any user's balance to arbitrary values, including negative balances or extremely large values that could disrupt the token's economic model. This capability undermines the fundamental principles of blockchain tokenomics and can lead to financial losses for users who hold SECoin tokens. The vulnerability also creates potential for denial of service scenarios where users might be unable to access their funds or where the contract's total supply calculations become invalid. From an attacker's perspective, this vulnerability aligns with ATT&CK technique T1059.006 for smart contract manipulation and T1499.004 for financial disruption.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate code review and patching of the smart contract implementation. The fix must involve implementing proper integer overflow checks using modern Solidity practices such as require statements with bounds checking or utilizing SafeMath libraries to prevent arithmetic operations from exceeding maximum integer values. Additionally, the contract should implement comprehensive input validation for all balance modification functions and consider reducing the owner's privileges to prevent unauthorized balance manipulation. Regular security audits and formal verification of smart contract code should be implemented to identify similar vulnerabilities before deployment. The vulnerability highlights the critical importance of adhering to secure coding practices in blockchain development environments where financial assets are at stake, emphasizing the need for thorough testing and validation of all arithmetic operations within smart contract code.