Snowman Merkle Airdrop

AI First Flight #10
Beginner FriendlyFoundrySolidityNFT
EXP
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Submission Details
Severity: low
Valid

earnSnow Global Timer Prevents Most Users From Earning Snow and Claiming Airdrop

earnSnow Global Timer Prevents Most Users From Earning Snow and Claiming Airdrop

Description

The Snow token is designed so users can either buy Snow or earn 1 Snow per week for free via earnSnow(). The intended behavior is that each user can earn once per week. The claimSnowman function in SnowmanAirdrop requires i_snow.balanceOf(receiver) > 0, so recipients must hold Snow to claim.

The earnSnow() function uses a single global s_earnTimer to enforce the "once per week" cooldown. When any user calls earnSnow(), it updates s_earnTimer = block.timestamp. The check block.timestamp < (s_earnTimer + 1 weeks) then blocks all other users from earning for the next week. Effectively, only one user globally can earn Snow per week instead of each user earning once per week.

// @> Root cause: s_earnTimer is global, not per-user; only one user can earn per week
function earnSnow() external canFarmSnow {
if (s_earnTimer != 0 && block.timestamp < (s_earnTimer + 1 weeks)) {
revert S__Timer();
}
_mint(msg.sender, 1);
s_earnTimer = block.timestamp; // @> Global update blocks everyone else
}

Risk

Likelihood (high):

  • The bug is present in the deployed contract; no special conditions are required.

  • The first user to call earnSnow() each week locks out all other users for that week.

  • Over the 12-week FARMING_DURATION, at most ~12 users can ever earn Snow via earnSnow().

Impact (high):

  • Recipients in the Merkle tree who were expected to earn Snow for free cannot obtain a balance.

  • Without Snow balance, they cannot pass i_snow.balanceOf(receiver) == 0 check and cannot claim their airdrop.

  • Core airdrop distribution is broken for the vast majority of intended free earners.

Severity (high):

Proof of Concept

  1. Merkle tree includes 1000 recipients expected to earn 1 Snow each via earnSnow().

  2. User A calls earnSnow() at week 1; s_earnTimer is set.

  3. User B tries earnSnow() in week 1; reverts with S__Timer().

  4. User C, D, ... all revert until week 2.

  5. Only one user can earn per week; over 12 weeks, at most 12 users earn Snow.

  6. The remaining 988 recipients have 0 Snow and cannot call claimSnowman.

// Demonstrates the global timer behavior
// User A earns at t=0
vm.prank(userA);
snow.earnSnow(); // succeeds, s_earnTimer = 0
// User B tries 1 second later
vm.prank(userB);
vm.expectRevert(Snow.S__Timer.selector);
snow.earnSnow(); // reverts - blocked by user A's call

Recommended Mitigation

Use per-user tracking instead of a global timer.

- uint256 private s_earnTimer;
+ mapping(address => uint256) private s_lastEarnTime;
function earnSnow() external canFarmSnow {
- if (s_earnTimer != 0 && block.timestamp < (s_earnTimer + 1 weeks)) {
+ if (s_lastEarnTime[msg.sender] != 0 && block.timestamp < (s_lastEarnTime[msg.sender] + 1 weeks)) {
revert S__Timer();
}
_mint(msg.sender, 1);
- s_earnTimer = block.timestamp;
+ s_lastEarnTime[msg.sender] = block.timestamp;
}

Remove s_earnTimer = block.timestamp from buySnow() (line 89) as it is unrelated to earning and incorrectly affects the earn cooldown.

Updates

Lead Judging Commences

ai-first-flight-judge Lead Judge about 12 hours ago
Submission Judgement Published
Validated
Assigned finding tags:

[L-02] Global Timer Reset in Snow::buySnow Denies Free Claims for All Users

## Description: The `Snow::buySnow` function contains a critical flaw where it resets a global timer `(s_earnTimer)` to the current block timestamp on every invocation. This timer controls eligibility for free token claims via `Snow::earnSnow()`, which requires 1 week to pass since the last timer reset. As a result: Any token purchase `(via buySnow)` blocks all free claims for all users for 7 days Malicious actors can permanently suppress free claims with micro-transactions Contradicts protocol documentation promising **"free weekly claims per user"** ## Impact: * **Complete Denial-of-Service:** Free claim mechanism becomes unusable * **Broken Protocol Incentives:** Undermines core user acquisition strategy * **Economic Damage:** Eliminates promised free distribution channel * **Reputation Harm:** Users perceive protocol as dishonest ```solidity function buySnow(uint256 amount) external payable canFarmSnow { if (msg.value == (s_buyFee * amount)) { _mint(msg.sender, amount); } else { i_weth.safeTransferFrom(msg.sender, address(this), (s_buyFee * amount)); _mint(msg.sender, amount); } @> s_earnTimer = block.timestamp; emit SnowBought(msg.sender, amount); } ``` ## Risk **Likelihood**: • Triggered by normal protocol usage (any purchase) • Requires only one transaction every 7 days to maintain blockage • Incentivized attack (low-cost disruption) **Impact**: • Permanent suppression of core protocol feature • Loss of user trust and adoption • Violates documented tokenomics ## Proof of Concept **Attack Scenario:** Permanent Free Claim Suppression * Attacker calls **buySnow(1)** with minimum payment * **s\_earnTimer** sets to current timestamp (T0) * All **earnSnow()** calls revert for **next 7 days** * On day 6, attacker repeats **buySnow(1)** * New timer reset (T1 = T0+6 days) * Free claims blocked until **T1+7 days (total 13 days)** * Repeat step **4 every 6 days → permanent blockage** **Test Case:** ```solidity // Day 0: Deploy contract snow = new Snow(...); // s_earnTimer = 0 // UserA claims successfully snow.earnSnow(); // Success (first claim always allowed) // Day 1: UserB buys 1 token snow.buySnow(1); // Resets global timer to day 1 // Day 2: UserA attempts claim snow.earnSnow(); // Reverts! Requires day 1+7 = day 8 // Day 7: UserC buys 1 token (day 7 < day 1+7) snow.buySnow(1); // Resets timer to day 7 // Day 8: UserA retries snow.earnSnow(); // Still reverts! Now requires day 7+7 = day 14 ``` ## Recommended Mitigation **Step 1:** Remove Global Timer Reset from `buySnow` ```diff function buySnow(uint256 amount) external payable canFarmSnow { // ... existing payment logic ... - s_earnTimer = block.timestamp; emit SnowBought(msg.sender, amount); } ``` **Step 2:** Implement Per-User Timer in `earnSnow` ```solidity // Add new state variable mapping(address => uint256) private s_lastClaimTime; function earnSnow() external canFarmSnow { // Check per-user timer instead of global if (s_lastClaimTime[msg.sender] != 0 && block.timestamp < s_lastClaimTime[msg.sender] + 1 weeks ) { revert S__Timer(); } _mint(msg.sender, 1); s_lastClaimTime[msg.sender] = block.timestamp; // Update user-specific timer emit SnowEarned(msg.sender, 1); // Add missing event } ``` **Step 3:** Initialize First Claim (Constructor) ```solidity constructor(...) { // Initialize with current timestamp to prevent immediate claims s_lastClaimTime[address(0)] = block.timestamp; } ```

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