CVE-2018-13739 in dopnetwork
Summary
by MITRE
The mintToken function of a smart contract implementation for dopnetwork, 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-2018-13739 represents a critical integer overflow flaw within the mintToken function of a smart contract deployed for the dopnetwork Ethereum token. This vulnerability resides in the core token management logic where the contract owner possesses elevated privileges to manipulate user balances through a mathematical overflow condition. The flaw fundamentally stems from insufficient input validation and lack of overflow checking mechanisms within the token minting process, creating a pathway for arbitrary balance manipulation that directly compromises the integrity of the token economy.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability manifests when the mintToken function processes token creation requests without proper boundary checks on numerical inputs. In Ethereum smart contracts, integer overflows occur when arithmetic operations exceed the maximum value that can be represented by the data type, causing the value to wrap around to zero or a negative number. The specific implementation flaw allows an attacker with contract ownership privileges to supply malicious input values that, when processed through the mintToken function, result in unexpected behavior within the balance accounting system. This particular vulnerability maps to CWE-190, which specifically addresses integer overflow and unsigned integer overflow conditions in software implementations.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple balance manipulation to potentially compromise the entire token ecosystem and user trust in the platform. An attacker with access to the contract owner account can arbitrarily set any user's token balance to any desired value, including zero or extremely large amounts. This capability enables various malicious activities such as creating unlimited token supply, draining user balances, or manipulating token distribution for personal gain. The vulnerability directly impacts the fundamental principles of blockchain tokenomics and can lead to financial losses for users who hold tokens in the affected system. Additionally, the exploitability of this vulnerability demonstrates a critical flaw in access control mechanisms, as it allows privileged account manipulation rather than requiring complex external attacks.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability must address both immediate remediation and long-term security improvements within the smart contract architecture. The primary fix involves implementing comprehensive input validation and overflow checking mechanisms within the mintToken function, ensuring all arithmetic operations include proper boundary checks before execution. The contract should utilize safe math libraries or implement explicit overflow detection before performing balance updates. Organizations should also consider implementing multi-signature ownership mechanisms to distribute control across multiple parties rather than relying on single owner accounts. From an ATT&CK framework perspective, this vulnerability represents a privilege escalation technique that could be leveraged for account takeover and resource manipulation. Security audits should include thorough testing of all arithmetic operations within smart contracts, particularly those involving user balance modifications and token creation functions, to prevent similar integer overflow conditions from persisting in future implementations.