CVE-2018-13750 in RichiumToken
Summary
by MITRE
The mintToken function of a smart contract implementation for RichiumToken, 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 • 03/03/2020
The vulnerability identified in CVE-2018-13750 represents a critical integer overflow flaw within the mintToken function of the RichiumToken smart contract deployed on the Ethereum blockchain. This vulnerability stems from improper input validation and arithmetic handling within the contract's code, creating a scenario where the contract owner can manipulate user balances arbitrarily. The flaw specifically manifests when the mintToken function processes token minting operations without adequate overflow checks, allowing malicious actors with owner privileges to execute calculations that exceed the maximum value representable by the underlying integer data type.
The technical implementation of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-190, which categorizes integer overflow conditions as a fundamental security weakness in software systems. In the context of Ethereum smart contracts, this vulnerability exploits the absence of proper boundary checks during arithmetic operations, particularly when dealing with uint256 data types. When the mintToken function executes, it performs calculations that can result in values exceeding the maximum limit of 2^256 - 1, causing the integer to wrap around to zero or negative values. This behavior creates a pathway for the contract owner to manipulate balances beyond normal operational limits, potentially allowing them to set any user's token balance to an arbitrary value including extremely large numbers or zero.
The operational impact of this vulnerability extends beyond simple balance manipulation, creating a potential for significant financial loss and system compromise within the token ecosystem. An attacker with owner privileges can exploit this flaw to either inflate user balances beyond the intended supply limits, causing economic disruption, or to zero out critical user accounts, effectively locking their tokens. The vulnerability also creates potential for further exploitation through cascading effects, as manipulated balances could affect other contract functions that depend on accurate token counts, such as voting mechanisms, staking operations, or transfer restrictions. This type of vulnerability undermines the fundamental trust model of blockchain systems where token holders expect their balances to be accurately maintained and protected from unauthorized manipulation.
From a threat modeling perspective, this vulnerability maps to several ATT&CK techniques including T1548.001 for privilege escalation and T1499.004 for data manipulation. The attack surface is particularly concerning because it requires only owner-level privileges to exploit, which are typically limited to authorized administrators or developers. However, the potential for compromise increases when owner keys are inadequately secured or when multiple parties have access to the contract's administrative functions. The vulnerability also exposes issues related to secure coding practices and the lack of proper input validation mechanisms that should be standard in smart contract development. Organizations should implement comprehensive testing procedures including formal verification and static analysis tools to identify similar integer overflow conditions before deployment, as this vulnerability demonstrates the critical importance of proper arithmetic boundary checking in blockchain applications. The incident highlights the necessity of following established security frameworks such as the Solidity security guidelines and the OpenZeppelin best practices for smart contract development to prevent similar vulnerabilities from compromising token ecosystems.