fix: enforce the base58 checksum and reject non-master extended keys (closes #210)

src/popup/index.html

@@ -136,7 +136,9 @@
                 <div id="add-wallet-section-xprv" class="hidden">
                     <p class="mb-2">
                         Paste your extended private key (xprv) below. This will
-                        import the HD wallet and scan for used addresses.
+                        import the HD wallet and scan for used addresses. It
+                        must be the master key for the wallet; an account-level
+                        or child key is not supported.
                     </p>
                     <div class="mb-2">
                         <input

src/popup/views/addWallet.js

@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@ const {
     addressFromPrivateKey,
     hdWalletFromXprv,
     isValidXprv,
+    isMasterExtendedKey,
 } = require("../../shared/wallet");
 const { encryptWithPassword } = require("../../shared/vault");
 const { state, saveState } = require("../../shared/state");
@@ -213,14 +214,25 @@ async function importXprvKey(ctx) {
         return;
     }
     if (!isValidXprv(xprv)) {
-        showFlash("Invalid extended private key.");
+        showFlash(
+            "That extended private key is not valid. Please check it and try again.",
+        );
+        return;
+    }
+    if (!isMasterExtendedKey(xprv)) {
+        showFlash(
+            "That is an account-level or child key, which cannot be imported. " +
+                "Please paste the master extended private key for the wallet.",
+        );
         return;
     }
     let result;
     try {
         result = hdWalletFromXprv(xprv);
     } catch (e) {
-        showFlash("Invalid extended private key.");
+        showFlash(
+            "That extended private key is not valid. Please check it and try again.",
+        );
         return;
     }
     const { xpub, firstAddress } = result;

src/shared/wallet.js

@@ -16,8 +16,60 @@ function generateMnemonic() {
     return m.phrase;
 }
 
+// Every extended key (xprv or xpub) entering the app goes through this.
+//
+// ethers' HDNodeWallet.fromExtendedKey does NOT verify the base58 checksum
+// when the decoded payload is the usual 82 bytes, which is exactly the case
+// the checksum exists to catch: a key with a one-character typo parses into a
+// *different* wallet instead of being rejected. Re-encoding the parsed node
+// reproduces a well-formed key byte for byte, checksum included, so comparing
+// the round trip against the input rejects any altered character. Measured by
+// the sweep in tests/wallet.test.js over every single-character substitution
+// of the BIP-32 vector 1 master key: 199 parse without the round-trip
+// comparison, 0 with it.
+//
+// Returns the parsed node, or null if the key is not a well-formed extended
+// key. Callers turn null into a user-facing error; none of them may fall back
+// to fromExtendedKey directly.
+function parseExtendedKey(key) {
+    if (typeof key !== "string") return null;
+    try {
+        const node = HDNodeWallet.fromExtendedKey(key);
+        return node.extendedKey === key ? node : null;
+    } catch {
+        return null;
+    }
+}
+
+// A master key is at depth 0. Only from there is BIP44_ETH_PATH the absolute
+// path it names; deriving it under an account-level or child key yields
+// addresses that correspond to nothing the user holds.
+const MASTER_DEPTH = 0;
+
+// Parse an extended private key that the BIP-44 Ethereum account path can be
+// derived from, or throw. Both callers derive BIP44_ETH_PATH from the result.
+function masterXprvOrThrow(key) {
+    const node = parseExtendedKey(key);
+    if (!node) {
+        throw new Error("Not a valid extended private key (xprv).");
+    }
+    if (!node.privateKey) {
+        throw new Error("Not an extended private key (xprv).");
+    }
+    if (node.depth !== MASTER_DEPTH) {
+        throw new Error(
+            "Not a master extended private key (xprv): an account-level or " +
+                "child key cannot be imported.",
+        );
+    }
+    return node;
+}
+
 function deriveAddressFromXpub(xpub, index) {
-    const node = HDNodeWallet.fromExtendedKey(xpub);
+    const node = parseExtendedKey(xpub);
+    if (!node) {
+        throw new Error("Not a valid extended key.");
+    }
     return node.deriveChild(index).address;
 }
 
@@ -29,23 +81,28 @@ function hdWalletFromMnemonic(mnemonic) {
 }
 
 function hdWalletFromXprv(xprv) {
-    const root = HDNodeWallet.fromExtendedKey(xprv);
-    if (!root.privateKey) {
-        throw new Error("Not an extended private key (xprv).");
-    }
-    const node = root.derivePath("44'/60'/0'/0");
+    // BIP44_ETH_PATH is absolute ("m/..."), which ethers will only derive from
+    // a depth-0 node. The relative form this used to derive would have been
+    // applied *beneath* an account-level key instead of being refused.
+    const node = masterXprvOrThrow(xprv).derivePath(BIP44_ETH_PATH);
     const xpub = node.neuter().extendedKey;
     const firstAddress = node.deriveChild(0).address;
     return { xpub, firstAddress };
 }
 
+// Well-formed extended private key. Says nothing about depth: the import view
+// reports a non-master key separately, since "check it for a typo" is the
+// wrong advice for a key the user copied correctly.
 function isValidXprv(key) {
-    try {
-        const node = HDNodeWallet.fromExtendedKey(key);
-        return !!node.privateKey;
-    } catch {
-        return false;
-    }
+    const node = parseExtendedKey(key);
+    return !!(node && node.privateKey);
+}
+
+// Whether an extended key is a master key, i.e. the one BIP44_ETH_PATH can be
+// derived from. False for anything parseExtendedKey rejects.
+function isMasterExtendedKey(key) {
+    const node = parseExtendedKey(key);
+    return !!node && node.depth === MASTER_DEPTH;
 }
 
 function addressFromPrivateKey(key) {
@@ -63,8 +120,8 @@ function getSignerForAddress(walletData, addrIndex, decryptedSecret) {
         return node.deriveChild(addrIndex);
     }
     if (walletData.type === "xprv") {
-        const root = HDNodeWallet.fromExtendedKey(decryptedSecret);
-        const node = root.derivePath("44'/60'/0'/0");
+        const node =
+            masterXprvOrThrow(decryptedSecret).derivePath(BIP44_ETH_PATH);
         return node.deriveChild(addrIndex);
     }
     return new Wallet(decryptedSecret);
@@ -89,6 +146,7 @@ module.exports = {
     hdWalletFromMnemonic,
     hdWalletFromXprv,
     isValidXprv,
+    isMasterExtendedKey,
     addressFromPrivateKey,
     getSignerForAddress,
     isValidMnemonic,