Hawk High

Summary

The initialize function accepts schoolFees without validating it is provided in 18-decimal wei, as required by the USDC invariant. This mismatch propagates to enroll, causing bursary to misrepresent the actual USDC balance, risking failed transfers and upgrade issues.

Vulnerability Details

• Root Cause: The initialize function sets schoolFees = _schoolFees without ensuring _schoolFees is in 18-decimal wei (e.g., 100 USDC = 100 * 10^18). If a caller provides 100e6 (6-decimal USDC), schoolFees is misinterpreted.

• Attack Path: In enroll, usdc.safeTransferFrom transfers the correct 18-decimal amount, but bursary += schoolFees adds the misaligned value. In graduateAndUpgrade, payPerTeacher and principalPay use the incorrect bursary, leading to insufficient funds for transfers.

• Affected Component: Initialization and financial tracking (schoolFees, bursary).

Proof of Concept

The following steps demonstrate the vulnerability:

• Step 1: Initialize the contract with schoolFees = 100e6 (intended as 100 USDC but provided as 6-decimal units).

• Step 2: Enroll 2 students, each transferring 100e18 USDC (correct 18-decimal amount). bursary becomes 200e6 (misaligned), while the actual balance is 200e18.

• Step 3: Add 2 teachers and start a session with startSession(70).

• Step 4: After 5 weeks, call graduateAndUpgrade(address(new LevelTwo()), "").

• Expected Result: Transfers succeed, with bursary reflecting 200e18.

• Actual Result: payPerTeacher = (200e6 * 35) / 100 = 70e6 per teacher, totaling 140e6 + 10e6 (principal) = 150e6, but the balance is 200e18. The transfer of 70e6 (interpreted as 70e6 wei, not 70 USDC) fails due to a mismatch.

Impact

• Financial Discrepancy: bursary underrepresents the actual USDC, leading to failed wage transfers.

• Upgrade Failure: Prevents the upgrade to LevelTwo, stalling the system.

Recommendations

Validate and convert schoolFees to 18-decimal wei in initialize. Here’s the diff:

Note: Adjust the multiplier (1012) based on the expected input decimal (e.g., 1018 if raw wei is expected). Add documentation to clarify expected units.