W3-PROXY-INITPrivilege Escalation

Uninitialised UUPS Proxy Implementation

Attacker calls initialise() on the implementation contract (not the proxy) — gain ownership, selfdestruct, brick all proxies that referenced it (Parity Multisig 2017).

§ Where this technique fits

W3-PROXY-INIT is catalogued under the Privilege Escalation tactic of the offensive-security kill-chain. It appears in 1 approved dossier in the registry, typically at step 2 on average.

§ Dossiers chaining this technique

Uninitialised UUPS proxy implementation → brick contracts
UUPS upgradeable contracts must initialise the implementation contract itself. If skipped, anyone can call `initialise()` and become its owner — then call `selfdestruct` to brick every proxy referencing it (Parity Multisig 2017).
step 2 / 4

§ What commonly comes next

01
Data Destruction
T1485 · Impact
seen 1×

§ Where this technique fits

§ Dossiers chaining this technique

Uninitialised UUPS proxy implementation → brick contracts

§ What commonly comes next