A lottery smart contract implementation for Greedy 599, an Ethereum gambling game, generates a random value that is predictable via an external contract call. The developer used the extcodesize() function to prevent a malicious contract from being called, but the attacker can bypass it by writing the core code in the constructor of their exploit code. Therefore, it allows attackers to always win and get rewards.
The product uses a Pseudo-Random Number Generator (PRNG) in a security context, but the PRNG’s algorithm is not cryptographically strong.
| Name | Vendor | Start Version | End Version |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greedy_599 | Greedy599 | - (including) | - (including) |
When a non-cryptographic PRNG is used in a cryptographic context, it can expose the cryptography to certain types of attacks. Often a pseudo-random number generator (PRNG) is not designed for cryptography. Sometimes a mediocre source of randomness is sufficient or preferable for algorithms that use random numbers. Weak generators generally take less processing power and/or do not use the precious, finite, entropy sources on a system. While such PRNGs might have very useful features, these same features could be used to break the cryptography.