�� [CRITICAL SECURITY] Private key exposure risk in WalletSwarmCoordinator

[evmparser]

Description

The WalletSwarmCoordinator class in hivemind_exp/chain_utils.py accepts a private key directly as a string argument and stores it as a plain text attribute on the instance. This creates a critical security vulnerability where the private key could be leaked through exception logging, object state dumps, or inadvertent exposure.

Location

hivemind_exp/chain_utils.py - WalletSwarmCoordinator.__init__()

Severity

🔴 CRITICAL - This vulnerability could lead to complete compromise of user funds and on-chain identity.

Impact

• If an exception occurs and the object state is logged, the private key will be exposed
• Any debugging or monitoring tools that inspect object attributes could capture the key
• Gives attackers full control over the user's on-chain identity and funds

Steps to Reproduce

1. Instantiate WalletSwarmCoordinator with a private key
2. Trigger any exception that logs the object state
3. Private key is visible in logs

Proposed Solution

Refactor the code to:

1. Load the private key from secure sources (environment variables, secrets manager) within the class
2. Never store the key as a plain text attribute
3. Ensure logging mechanisms explicitly exclude sensitive attributes
4. Consider using a secure key management library

# Instead of passing the key directly:
# coordinator = WalletSwarmCoordinator(private_key="0x...")

# Load from environment:
import os
class WalletSwarmCoordinator:
    def __init__(self):
        self._private_key = os.getenv('WALLET_PRIVATE_KEY')
        if not self._private_key:
            raise ValueError("WALLET_PRIVATE_KEY environment variable not set")

References

• OWASP: Sensitive Data Exposure
• Web3.py Security Best Practices