Snowman Merkle Airdrop

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

Zero-Amount Snow Purchases Can Reset Global Farming Cooldown

Root + Impact

Description

  • The intended behavior is that users can earn one free Snow token through earnSnow, but only after the farming cooldown has passed. The contract uses s_earnTimer to decide when another earnSnow call is allowed.

  • The issue is that s_earnTimer is global for the whole contract and can also be updated by buySnow. Since buySnow does not reject amount == 0, any user can call buySnow(0) for free. This mints zero tokens but still resets the global cooldown, preventing all users from earning Snow.

// Root cause in the codebase with @> marks to highlight the relevant section
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);
}
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: High

  • buySnow(0) costs zero ETH because msg.value == s_buyFee * 0.

  • The zero-amount purchase still updates the shared s_earnTimer.

  • Any external account can repeat the call before the one-week cooldown expires.

Impact: High

  • Free farming can be permanently griefed during the farming window.

  • Honest users are prevented from earning Snow through earnSnow.

  • The airdrop distribution can be distorted because users relying on farming cannot build their Snow balances.

Proof of Concept

The following PoC demonstrates that an attacker can reset the global timer without paying anything. Ashley first earns Snow successfully. After one week passes, Ashley should be able to earn again. Before she does, the attacker calls buySnow(0), which resets s_earnTimer. Ashley’s next earnSnow call reverts.

function testExploit_ZeroAmountBuyResetsGlobalEarnTimer() public {
address ashley = makeAddr("ashley");
address attacker = makeAddr("attacker");
// Ashley earns once.
vm.prank(ashley);
snow.earnSnow();
assertEq(snow.balanceOf(ashley), 1);
// One week passes, so Ashley should be eligible again.
vm.warp(block.timestamp + 1 weeks);
// Attacker spends 0 ETH and buys 0 Snow.
vm.prank(attacker);
snow.buySnow(0);
// Ashley is now blocked because the global timer was reset.
vm.prank(ashley);
vm.expectRevert(Snow.S__Timer.selector);
snow.earnSnow();
assertEq(snow.balanceOf(attacker), 0);
assertEq(snow.balanceOf(ashley), 1);
}

This succeeds because buySnow(0) satisfies the exact ETH branch with 0 == 0 and then updates s_earnTimer.

Recommended Mitigation

Reject zero-amount purchases and separate purchase logic from farming cooldown logic. Buying Snow should not reset the cooldown for free farming, and cooldowns should be tracked per user rather than globally.

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

Lead Judging Commences

ai-first-flight-judge Lead Judge 4 days 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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