# If user sets a low gasPrice the operator would have to choose between being locked out of the pod or executing the job anyway

Holograph operator is locked into a job and cannot skip it, so a user setting gasPrice to 1 wei forces the operator to pay uncompensated gas or be slashed.

- Payout: Contest reward
- Severity: high
- Program: Holograph
- Credited: 0xA5DF
- Disclosed: 2022-12-15
- Write-up quality: 6/10
- Original: https://github.com/code-423n4/2022-10-holograph-findings/issues/364
- Library page: https://bugbountylibrary.com/r/c4%3A2022-10-holograph%3AH-02
- Tags: domain:web3 impact:funds-loss kind:contest platform:code4rena sev:high tech:solidity technique:source-review vuln:business-logic vuln:dos

**Target:** HolographOperator job execution / LayerZeroModule gas compensation
**Root cause:** Operator is removed from the pod upon job selection and cannot skip or abandon the job; compensation is computed from the user-supplied gasPrice, which the user can set arbitrarily low (1 wei).
**Steps:**
1. User initiates a beam with `gasPrice` set to 1 wei, so operator compensation is near-zero.
2. Operator is selected and temporarily removed from the pod (HolographOperator.sol#L202-L340).
3. Operator cannot skip the job; only options are execute at real gas cost (loss) or stay locked out of the pod and unable to reclaim bond.
4. If another party executes instead, the selected operator is slashed.
**How found:** Code reading of the operator selection/job lifecycle and compensation formula: noticed operator is removed from pod on selection with no skip path, and compensation derives from user-controlled gasPrice.
**Exploitation:** Attacker deploys their own contract as source contract, uses the `bridgeIn` event `data` to instruct operations (e.g. USDc gasless send where tx.origin doesn't matter), and sets gasPrice to 1 wei so the selected operator must pay the real dest-chain gas while compensated almost nothing.
**Escalation:** Attacker can repeatedly force operators to pay for the attacker's expensive gas tasks, draining operator economics.
**Insight:** In operator/keeper reward designs, check whether the worker can decline a job after being committed to it; if selection is involuntary and compensation is user-parameterized, a 1-wei gasPrice becomes a griefing lever.