A Way Around Restricted Getters

Question

Consider a getter function with a restriction on who can read it, like

function getData()
    public
    view
    returns (uint x)
{
    require(msg.sender = '0x123..123');
    x = data;
}

This prevents people from getting this data via Remix or from another contract unless its address is 0x123..123; the requester must know not just the address, but possess its private key.

Yet via web3.js, I can pull this by using

EthContract.methods.getData.cacheCall({ 'from': '0x123..123' })

Here I do not need the private key.

I was wondering if there was a way to call web3.js programs within the blockchain, which would allow one to effectively get around the private key ownership requirement.

Answer 1

IMHO restricted access to getters is a pointless contract design.

It is always possible to access every value. Indeed, every full node has full access necessarily because they need that to process contract functions.

If the contract doesn't "permit" access it is really only inconveniencing a determined adversary.

Here's a way to circumvent the contract's rules. How to read a private variable from a contract?

Hope.it helps