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Last updated: February 09, 2026

SCWE-078: Improper Handling of Ether Transfers

Stable Version v1.0

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Description

Improper handling of Ether transfers in Solidity can lead to unexpected behaviors, such as failed transactions or loss of funds. For instance, when using transfer() or send(), failure to check for successful execution or not handling exceptions correctly can cause Ether to be locked or lost in the contract.

Remediation

Always handle exceptions properly when transferring Ether. Ensure that you check for success or failure using require() or assert() after Ether transfers. Additionally, use call() with a specified gas limit for greater flexibility and error handling.

Vulnerable Contract Example

pragma solidity ^0.8.0;

contract Example {
    function transferEther(address payable _to) public payable {
        // Fails silently if transfer fails
        _to.transfer(msg.value);  // No error handling, can cause issues
    }
}

Fixed Contract Example

pragma solidity ^0.8.0;

contract Example {
    function transferEther(address payable _to) public payable {
        (bool success, ) = _to.call{value: msg.value}("");
        require(success, "Transfer failed");
    }
}