CVE-2018-13662 in WorldOpctionChain
Summary
by MITRE
The mintToken function of a smart contract implementation for WorldOpctionChain, 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-2018-13662 resides within the mintToken function of a smart contract implementation for WorldOpctionChain, an Ethereum-based token system. This represents a critical security flaw that fundamentally undermines the integrity of the token economy by enabling unauthorized manipulation of user balances. The vulnerability manifests as an integer overflow condition that occurs during the token minting process, creating a scenario where the contract owner can arbitrarily manipulate account balances beyond normal operational parameters. The flaw specifically impacts the contract's ability to maintain accurate accounting of token holdings, potentially allowing for unlimited token generation or manipulation of specific user accounts.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability stems from improper input validation and arithmetic operations within the mintToken function. When processing token minting requests, the smart contract fails to properly validate or constrain the parameters used in balance calculations, creating an environment where integer overflow conditions can be exploited. This type of vulnerability falls under the CWE-190 category of Integer Overflow or Wraparound, which is a well-documented weakness in software systems where arithmetic operations produce results that exceed the maximum value representable by the data type. The Ethereum blockchain environment amplifies this risk as smart contracts execute with immutable code and cannot be easily patched once deployed, making such vulnerabilities particularly dangerous for users who have already invested in the token system.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends far beyond simple balance manipulation, creating significant financial and systemic risks for the WorldOpctionChain ecosystem. An attacker with contract ownership privileges can arbitrarily set any user's token balance to any value, potentially enabling them to create unlimited tokens or manipulate specific accounts to gain disproportionate control over the token distribution. This capability directly violates fundamental principles of blockchain security and decentralization, as it allows for centralization of control through malicious code execution rather than legitimate transaction processing. The vulnerability essentially grants the contract owner a backdoor mechanism that bypasses normal token economics and can be exploited to manipulate market dynamics, create artificial scarcity, or transfer tokens to unauthorized accounts without proper authorization.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate attention and comprehensive remediation approaches that address both the immediate security threat and prevent similar issues in future implementations. The primary solution involves implementing proper input validation and boundary checking within the mintToken function to prevent integer overflow conditions from occurring during arithmetic operations. Developers should employ safe arithmetic libraries or implement explicit overflow checks before performing balance calculations, ensuring that all values remain within acceptable ranges. Additionally, contract owners should consider implementing access control mechanisms that limit the mintToken function's capabilities to prevent unauthorized balance manipulation, potentially through multi-signature requirements or time-based restrictions on minting operations. The remediation process should also include comprehensive code auditing and formal verification of smart contract logic to identify similar vulnerabilities that may exist in other functions or components of the blockchain system.
This vulnerability aligns with several ATT&CK framework techniques including T1059.006 for Smart Contract Manipulation and T1548.001 for Account Manipulation, demonstrating how blockchain-based systems can be compromised through code-level vulnerabilities that bypass traditional security controls. The attack surface for such vulnerabilities is particularly concerning in decentralized finance applications where smart contracts handle significant financial value, as the immutable nature of blockchain code means that once deployed with such flaws, they cannot be easily corrected without creating entirely new contract instances. Industry best practices recommend thorough security testing including fuzzing, symbolic execution, and formal verification before deploying smart contracts to mainnet environments to prevent these types of critical vulnerabilities from being exploited in production systems.