CVE-2018-13756 in CherryCoinFoundation
Summary
by MITRE
The mintToken function of a smart contract implementation for CherryCoinFoundation, 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-2018-13756 represents a critical integer overflow flaw within the mintToken function of a CherryCoinFoundation Ethereum token smart contract implementation. This vulnerability stems from inadequate input validation and arithmetic overflow handling within the contract's codebase, creating a fundamental security weakness 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 manipulation and potential theft of token holdings.
The technical nature of this vulnerability aligns with CWE-190, which specifically addresses integer overflow conditions where an integer value exceeds the maximum representable value for its data type. In Ethereum smart contracts, this manifests when operations on uint256 variables exceed their maximum capacity of 2^256-1, causing the value to wrap around to zero or negative numbers depending on the implementation. The mintToken function appears to lack proper bounds checking before performing arithmetic operations that could result in overflow conditions, particularly when dealing with balance updates and token creation processes.
Operationally, this vulnerability creates a severe risk for CherryCoinFoundation token holders and the broader Ethereum ecosystem. The contract owner can exploit this flaw to set any user's balance to an arbitrary value, potentially allowing them to create unlimited tokens or manipulate other users' holdings. This capability directly violates the fundamental principles of blockchain security and trust, as it enables the owner to bypass normal token distribution mechanisms and potentially drain funds from other participants. The impact extends beyond individual users to the entire token economy, as such manipulation can undermine market confidence and token value.
The vulnerability also relates to ATT&CK technique T1548.001, which covers privilege escalation through abuse of administrative access. In this case, the contract owner's administrative privileges are being exploited to gain unauthorized control over user balances, effectively enabling a form of account takeover or fund manipulation. This attack vector demonstrates how smart contract owners can leverage their privileged position to compromise the security model of decentralized applications, creating a dangerous precedent for token governance and user asset protection.
Mitigation strategies for this vulnerability require immediate code review and patching of the mintToken function to implement proper overflow protection mechanisms. The implementation should utilize safe math libraries or explicit overflow checks before performing arithmetic operations on balance values. Additionally, the contract should undergo comprehensive security auditing to identify and remediate similar vulnerabilities throughout the codebase. Regular security assessments and formal verification techniques should be implemented to prevent future occurrences of integer overflow conditions. The token owner should also consider implementing multi-signature controls and time locks for critical functions to reduce the risk of unauthorized manipulation, while users should be advised to monitor their balances and avoid transferring funds to contracts with known vulnerabilities.