CVE-2018-13715 in BpsToken
Summary
by MITRE
The mintToken function of a smart contract implementation for BpsToken, 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-2018-13715 represents a critical integer overflow flaw within the mintToken function of the BpsToken smart contract implementation on the Ethereum blockchain. This vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and arithmetic overflow handling within the contract's code logic, creating a significant security risk that directly impacts the token's integrity and user funds. The flaw allows the contract owner to manipulate user balances arbitrarily, effectively enabling unauthorized fund transfers and account manipulation. The vulnerability manifests when the mintToken function processes token minting operations without proper overflow checks, permitting malicious actors with owner privileges to execute operations that exceed the maximum value representable by the integer data type, thereby causing unexpected behavior in the contract's balance calculations.
The technical exploitation of this vulnerability occurs through the manipulation of the mintToken function parameters, specifically targeting the arithmetic operations that handle token creation and distribution. When the contract performs calculations involving token amounts that exceed the maximum value of the underlying integer type, the overflow results in a wraparound behavior that can be controlled by the attacker. This allows the contract owner to set any user's balance to an arbitrary value, potentially creating unlimited tokens or manipulating existing balances to achieve unauthorized access to funds. The vulnerability directly maps to CWE-190, which describes integer overflow conditions that can lead to unexpected behavior in arithmetic operations, and aligns with CWE-191, which covers integer underflow conditions that can produce similar exploitable behaviors.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple balance manipulation to encompass potential financial losses, contract integrity compromise, and systemic risks within the Ethereum ecosystem. An attacker with owner privileges can exploit this flaw to drain funds from user accounts, create artificial inflation of token supply, or manipulate token distributions to gain unfair advantages. The vulnerability affects all users of the BpsToken contract who rely on the integrity of their token balances, potentially leading to complete loss of funds and eroding trust in the token ecosystem. Additionally, the exploitation of this vulnerability can result in transaction failures, contract malfunctions, and broader network impacts when the affected smart contract interacts with other systems or protocols that depend on accurate balance calculations.
Mitigation strategies for CVE-2018-13715 require immediate implementation of comprehensive code auditing and security hardening measures. The primary remediation involves adding proper overflow and underflow checks using modern Solidity versions that include built-in protections or implementing explicit validation routines before any arithmetic operations. Developers should utilize SafeMath libraries or similar mathematical safety mechanisms that prevent overflow conditions during token minting and balance updates. The contract owner must also implement proper access controls and audit logging to detect unauthorized attempts to exploit this vulnerability. Additionally, comprehensive testing including fuzz testing and formal verification should be conducted to ensure that all arithmetic operations within the contract handle edge cases appropriately. Organizations should consider implementing multi-signature wallets for contract ownership and establish regular security auditing processes to identify and remediate similar vulnerabilities before they can be exploited. The vulnerability also aligns with ATT&CK technique T1548.001, which covers privilege escalation through code injection or manipulation of system processes, emphasizing the need for proper access control and privilege management in smart contract implementations.