RustFund

Hey,

I am submitting a professional security assessment report detailing a high-severity vulnerability I discovered within the RustFund decentralized crowdfunding platform built on the Solana blockchain. My findings are structured to provide clear descriptions of the issue, impact, and recommendations for remediation. The purpose of this submission is to enhance the security and reliability of the RustFund platform through responsible disclosure.

Summary

During a comprehensive security assessment of the RustFund decentralized crowdfunding platform built on the Solana blockchain, a high-severity vulnerability was identified in the refund mechanism. The issue arises from inadequate validation of campaign states before processing refunds, potentially allowing malicious actors to exploit the system for illegitimate refunds or initiate Denial-of-Service (DoS) attacks on valid campaigns.

Vulnerability Details

Discovery Method

The vulnerability was identified through a combination of manual code review and automated security testing using specialized blockchain auditing tools, particularly focusing on transaction state validation during refund processing.

Severity Level

Severity: High - This vulnerability can result in unauthorized fund withdrawals, DoS attacks, and significant loss of user funds, severely impacting the platform’s credibility and financial integrity.

Affected Components

• Smart Contracts: Responsible for processing refund requests and managing campaign states.

Technical Explanation

The RustFund protocol allows contributors to request refunds if a campaign fails to meet its goal within the specified deadline. However, the system lacks thorough verification of campaign states during the refund process, specifically:

• Refund requests are processed without properly confirming if the campaign’s deadline has expired and if the funding goal was unmet.

• A malicious user can manipulate transaction states to trigger refunds even when conditions are not met, causing unauthorized release of funds.

• Repeated refund requests can be exploited to overwhelm the smart contract’s processing capabilities, resulting in a DoS condition.

Impact

Exploitation of this vulnerability could result in:

• Unauthorized withdrawal of contributed funds by malicious actors.

• Financial loss for legitimate campaign creators.

• Erosion of trust in the RustFund platform due to potential exploitability.

• Potential disruption of the platform’s operations through DoS attacks.

Tools Used

• Manual Code Review: Comprehensive inspection of the Rust-based smart contracts.

• Automated Testing Tools: Solana-specific vulnerability scanners and fuzzing tools.

• Transaction Monitoring: Analysis of blockchain transactions related to campaign contributions and refunds.

Recommendations

1. Implement robust campaign state verification during refund processing, ensuring that conditions such as campaign failure and deadline expiry are thoroughly validated before proceeding with refunds.

2. Introduce rate-limiting mechanisms to prevent repeated refund requests from overloading the smart contract.

3. Apply best practices for smart contract development, including continuous monitoring and auditing of contract interactions.

4. Consider adding automated test cases to verify the integrity of the refund mechanism under various scenarios.

THANKS.