Snowman Merkle Airdrop

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

Shared Global Timer for Weekly Snow Earning Mechanism

Description

The weekly earning mechanism (allowing users to mint 1 Snow token every 7 days during the 12-week farming period) relies on a single global state variable s_earnTimer:

solidity

uint256 private s_earnTimer;
function buySnow(uint256 amount) external payable canFarmSnow {
// ... mint logic
s_earnTimer = block.timestamp; // Sets global timer
}
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; // Resets global timer
}

This condition reverts if less than 1 week has passed which is the opposite of the intended behavior. The correct logic should revert only if less than 1 week has elapsed since the last earn (i.e., allow earning only after 1 week).

Impact

  1. Global Cooldown Affects All Users:

    • The timer is shared across every user.

    • When any user calls buySnow() or earnSnow(), it resets the timer for the entire protocol.

    • This means only one user can successfully call earnSnow() every 7 days.

    • All other users will be blocked until the next week, regardless of their individual activity.

  2. First-Come-First-Served Exploitation:

    • The first user to call earnSnow() after a reset claims their free token and immediately resets the timer.

    • Subsequent users are locked out for a full week.

    • A malicious actor (or bot) can repeatedly call buySnow() (paying minimal fees) to perpetually reset the timer, preventing anyone else from ever earning Snow.

  3. Broken Incentive Mechanism:

    • The intended "earn 1 Snow per week" farming incentive becomes effectively non-functional for the vast majority of users.

    • This undermines the token distribution and farming model.

Proof of Concept

Scenario Demonstration (Conceptual Test Outline):

solidity

// Pseudocode test in Foundry
function test_GlobalTimerBlocksMultipleUsers() public {
address userA = makeAddr("A");
address userB = makeAddr("B");
// Assume farming active
vm.startPrank(userA);
snow.buySnow{value: fee}(1); // Sets s_earnTimer = now
vm.warp(block.timestamp + 8 days); // Advance >1 week
snow.earnSnow(); // Succeeds for userA, resets timer to now
vm.stopPrank();
vm.prank(userB);
snow.earnSnow(); // REVERTS - timer just reset by userA
vm.warp(block.timestamp + 6 days);
vm.prank(userB);
snow.earnSnow(); // STILL REVERTS - <1 week since userA's earn
}

This shows userB must wait for userA's next cycle, and vice versa — effectively serializing the reward across all users.

Recommended mitigation

  1. Replace global timer with per-user mapping:

solidity

mapping(address => uint256) private s_lastEarnTimestamp;
function buySnow(uint256 amount) external payable canFarmSnow {
// ... existing mint logic
s_lastEarnTimestamp[msg.sender] = block.timestamp; // Track per buyer if desired
}
function earnSnow() external canFarmSnow {
uint256 lastEarn = s_lastEarnTimestamp[msg.sender];
if (lastEarn != 0 && block.timestamp < lastEarn + 1 weeks) {
revert S__Timer();
}
_mint(msg.sender, 1);
s_lastEarnTimestamp[msg.sender] = block.timestamp;
}
  1. Fix the logical condition (even if keeping global — but strongly recommend per-user):

solidity

if (lastEarn != 0 && block.timestamp < lastEarn + 1 weeks) { ... } // Correct: revert if too soon
  1. Optional: Allow buySnow() to optionally update the user's earn timer, or keep it separate.

Updates

Lead Judging Commences

ai-first-flight-judge Lead Judge about 3 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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