Snowman Merkle Airdrop

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

`Snow::earnSnow` uses a single global `s_earnTimer`, so one user's earn/buy blocks weekly earning for all users

Description

  • Snow is meant to let each user earn 1 free Snow token per week via earnSnow, enforced by a per-caller weekly cooldown. Earning (or holding) Snow is what makes an address eligible for the Snowman airdrop, so free weekly earning is a core entry point to the protocol.

  • The cooldown is tracked by a single contract-wide variable s_earnTimer instead of a per-address mapping. earnSnow checks and then overwrites this one global value, and buySnow overwrites it too. As a result, whenever any single user earns or buys, the global timer is reset, and every other user is blocked from earnSnow for the next week. Only one earn can succeed protocol-wide per week, and any purchase further postpones earning for everyone.

// src/Snow.sol
uint256 private s_earnTimer; // @> single global timer, not per-user
function earnSnow() external canFarmSnow {
if (s_earnTimer != 0 && block.timestamp < (s_earnTimer + 1 weeks)) { // @> checks the shared global timer
revert S__Timer();
}
_mint(msg.sender, 1);
s_earnTimer = block.timestamp; // @> any caller resets the cooldown for everyone
}
function buySnow(uint256 amount) external payable canFarmSnow {
...
s_earnTimer = block.timestamp; // @> a buy also blocks everyone from earning for a week
...
}

Risk

Likelihood: High

  • Every call to earnSnow or buySnow overwrites the shared timer, so the block on all other users happens on the very first earn/buy each week and repeats continuously as activity occurs.

  • With more than one user, the contention is guaranteed under normal usage; a single active user (or a griefer calling earnSnow/buySnow cheaply) keeps the timer perpetually fresh.

Impact: Medium

  • The weekly free-earn mechanism is broken for the whole user base: at most one address per week can earn, and all others are denied a core feature.

  • Because earning Snow is the free path to airdrop eligibility, users are effectively locked out of the intended way to participate, degrading the protocol's central functionality (griefing / denial of service).

Proof of Concept

Two users try to earn in the same week. The first succeeds; the second is blocked purely because the timer is global, even though the second user has never earned:

function test_GlobalEarnTimerBlocksOtherUsers() public {
// alice earns her weekly Snow -> sets the global s_earnTimer
vm.prank(alice);
snow.earnSnow();
assertEq(snow.balanceOf(alice), 1);
// bob has NEVER earned, but is blocked in the same week by the shared timer
vm.prank(bob);
vm.expectRevert(Snow.S__Timer.selector);
snow.earnSnow();
assertEq(snow.balanceOf(bob), 0); // bob is denied his own weekly earn
}

Recommended Mitigation

Track the cooldown per address so each user has an independent weekly timer, and stop buySnow from touching another user's earn schedule:

- uint256 private s_earnTimer;
+ mapping(address => uint256) private s_earnTimer;
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;
}

Remove the s_earnTimer = block.timestamp; write from buySnow (buying should not affect anyone's free-earn cooldown).

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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