Snowman Merkle Airdrop

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

`Snow::s_earnTimer` is a single global cooldown rather than per-user, and a zero-cost `buySnow(0)` call resets it, letting anyone permanently disable free weekly Snow farming for every user at gas cost

Description

earnSnow is advertised as a free weekly mint: each user should be able to claim Snow once per week.

s_earnTimer is one storage slot shared by all users, and it is written by both earnSnow and buySnow. So the cooldown is protocol-wide, not per-address: whoever earns first locks out everyone else for a full week. Separately, buySnow(0) is free — s_buyFee * 0 == 0 == msg.value satisfies the ETH branch, mints nothing, and still stamps the timer — so anyone can extend the global lockout indefinitely for gas alone.

// src/Snow.sol
@> uint256 private s_earnTimer; // ONE slot for the whole protocol, not a mapping
function buySnow(uint256 amount) external payable canFarmSnow {
@> if (msg.value == (s_buyFee * amount)) { // amount == 0 => 0 == 0, free path
_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);
}
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;
}

Risk

Likelihood:

  • Permanently, from the first block onward, as a side effect of ordinary use: every buySnow and every earnSnow by any user freezes free farming for the entire protocol for one week.

  • Deliberate griefing requires no capital and no preconditions — buySnow(0) with msg.value == 0 passes canFarmSnow and costs only gas, and can be repeated every time the week elapses for the whole 12-week farming period.

Impact:

  • One of the two advertised ways to obtain Snow is unavailable to all but one address per week under normal use, and can be made unavailable to everyone, permanently, by a griefer spending only gas.

  • Since Snow is the prerequisite for claiming a Snowman NFT, blocking the free path forces all users onto the paid path, or excludes them.

Proof of Concept

Paste the harness and test function(s) into test/PoC.t.sol, placing test functions inside contract PoC. Any additional helper contracts go outside contract PoC. Run forge test --match-path test/PoC.t.sol -vv.

// SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
pragma solidity ^0.8.24;
import {Test, console2} from "forge-std/Test.sol";
import {Snow} from "../src/Snow.sol";
import {Snowman} from "../src/Snowman.sol";
import {SnowmanAirdrop} from "../src/SnowmanAirdrop.sol";
import {MockWETH} from "../src/mock/MockWETH.sol";
contract PoC is Test {
Snow snow;
Snowman nft;
MockWETH weth;
address collector = makeAddr("collector");
address attacker = makeAddr("attacker");
address victim = makeAddr("victim");
function setUp() public {
weth = new MockWETH();
snow = new Snow(address(weth), 1, collector);
nft = new Snowman("ipfs://snowman");
}
function _leaf(address who, uint256 amount) internal pure returns (bytes32) {
return keccak256(bytes.concat(keccak256(abi.encode(who, amount))));
}
// Insert the test function below here.
}

Two tests: the global-timer defect, and the free permanent DoS built on it.

function test_OneUsersEarnBlocksEveryOtherUser() public {
vm.prank(attacker);
snow.earnSnow();
vm.prank(victim);
vm.expectRevert(Snow.S__Timer.selector);
snow.earnSnow();
}
function test_FreeGriefPermanentlyBlocksEarnSnowForEveryone() public {
uint256 snap = vm.snapshotState();
vm.prank(victim);
snow.earnSnow();
assertEq(snow.balanceOf(victim), 1, "baseline: victim could earn");
vm.revertToState(snap);
vm.prank(attacker);
snow.buySnow{value: 0}(0);
vm.prank(victim);
vm.expectRevert(Snow.S__Timer.selector);
snow.earnSnow();
vm.warp(block.timestamp + 7 days);
vm.prank(attacker);
snow.buySnow{value: 0}(0);
vm.prank(victim);
vm.expectRevert(Snow.S__Timer.selector);
snow.earnSnow();
}

Recommended Mitigation

Make the cooldown per-user, reject zero-amount purchases, and stop letting a purchase affect the free-mint cooldown at all.

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

Lead Judging Commences

ai-first-flight-judge Lead Judge about 2 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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