---
issue: 015
title: "Simulated transaction SIM_ bypass has no environment guard — can fire in production on wallet connection failure"
severity: critical
domain: Payment
status: resolved
resolved: 2026-05-29
fix: "Backend: wrapped SIM_ bypass in both paymentRoutes.ts and marketplace/routes.ts with process.env.NODE_ENV !== 'production' guard. Frontend: web3-provider.tsx and web3-payment.tsx now throw in production instead of silently returning a fake SIM_ hash."
labels: [security, bug, critical, payment, frontend, bypass]
status: open
created: 2026-05-29
source: Doc vs Code Audit 2026-05-29
---

# 🔴 Simulated transaction SIM_ bypass has no environment guard — can fire in production on wallet connection failure

**Severity:** critical
**Domain:** Payment
**Labels:** security, bug, critical, payment, frontend, bypass

## Description

src/web3/context/web3-provider.tsx lines 225 and 232 generate SIM_ prefixed transaction hashes when wallet connection fails. The backend skips on-chain verification for any paymentHash starting with 'SIM_' — controlled only by hash prefix, not an environment flag. The frontend generates SIM_ hashes in an error fallback path that can trigger in production.

## Current Behavior

In production, if a wallet connection times out or throws, the fallback generates a SIM_ hash that passes backend verification and creates a completed payment record without any real on-chain transaction.

## Expected Behavior

SIM_ hash generation should be guarded by process.env.NODE_ENV !== 'production' check. Backend SIM_ bypass should also be gated by NODE_ENV.

## Reproduction Steps

Simulate a wallet connection failure in staging — observe that a SIM_ hash is generated and check if a completed payment record is created in the database.

## Affected Files

- `frontend/src/web3/context/web3-provider.tsx`

## References

- [Doc vs Code Audit Report](../09%20-%20Audits/Doc%20vs%20Code%20Audit%20Report%20-%202026-05-29.md)