CVE-2018-13663 in BSCToken
Summary
by MITRE
The mintToken function of a smart contract implementation for BSCToken, 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 in CVE-2018-13663 represents a critical integer overflow flaw within the mintToken function of the BSCToken smart contract implementation on the Ethereum blockchain. This vulnerability stems from improper input validation and arithmetic operations that fail to account for the maximum limits of integer data types. The flaw allows the contract owner to manipulate token balances of arbitrary users by exploiting the overflow behavior, effectively enabling unauthorized balance manipulation that could result in significant financial loss or system compromise.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability manifests through the mintToken function's failure to properly validate or constrain integer values during token creation operations. When the function processes token minting requests, it performs arithmetic operations without adequate overflow checks, allowing malicious inputs to cause integer overflow conditions. This behavior violates the fundamental security principle of input validation and demonstrates a classic weakness in smart contract development practices. The vulnerability directly maps to CWE-190, which specifically addresses integer overflow and underflow conditions in software implementations, and aligns with ATT&CK technique T1210 for exploitation of remote services through software vulnerabilities.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple balance manipulation, as it fundamentally compromises the integrity and trustworthiness of the token ecosystem. An attacker with owner privileges can arbitrarily set any user's token balance to zero, create unlimited tokens, or manipulate the total supply in ways that undermine the token's economic model. This capability enables various attack vectors including but not limited to theft of funds, manipulation of token prices, and potential denial of service attacks against other users within the system. The vulnerability's severity is compounded by the immutable nature of blockchain transactions, meaning that once exploited, the damage cannot be reversed without a hard fork or contract replacement.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate implementation of proper integer overflow protections within the smart contract code. Developers must implement comprehensive input validation checks, utilize safe arithmetic libraries, and employ overflow detection mechanisms before performing any arithmetic operations. The recommended approach includes implementing require statements that validate input ranges and using libraries such as OpenZeppelin's SafeMath to prevent arithmetic overflows. Additionally, contract owners should conduct thorough security audits, implement proper access controls, and establish multi-signature governance mechanisms to reduce the risk of unauthorized access to privileged functions. Regular security testing and formal verification of smart contract code should become standard practice to prevent similar vulnerabilities from being introduced in future implementations.