Medium severity · published May 13, 2021
CVE-2021-31876
Bitcoin Core 0.12.0 through 0.21.1 does not properly implement the replacement policy specified in BIP125, which makes it easier for attackers to trigger a loss of funds, or a…
6.5
CVSS
1.6%
EPSS
No
On KEV
Description
Bitcoin Core 0.12.0 through 0.21.1 does not properly implement the replacement policy specified in BIP125, which makes it easier for attackers to trigger a loss of funds, or a denial of service attack against downstream projects such as Lightning network nodes. An unconfirmed child transaction with nSequence = 0xff_ff_ff_ff, spending an unconfirmed parent with nSequence <= 0xff_ff_ff_fd, should be replaceable because there is inherited signaling by the child transaction. However, the actual PreChecks implementation does not enforce this. Instead, mempool rejects the replacement attempt of the unconfirmed child transaction.
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:L
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
Low
Availability
Low
Scope
Unchanged
Exploitation
Is it being used?
Exploit prediction (EPSS)1.6% · higher than 76% of CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo evidence yet
CISA KEVNot listed
Ransomware campaign useNot known
Affected products
Which versions
BI
Bitcoin · Bitcoin
0.12.0 through 0.21.1 · source: NVD
References
NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2021-31876
CVE.org
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2021-31876
Vendor Advisory
https://bitcoinops.org/en/newsletters/2021/05/12/
Vendor Advisory
https://bitcoinops.org/en/topics/replace-by-fee/
Third Party Advisory
https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Common_Vulnerabilities_and_Exposures#CVE-2021-31876
Third Party Advisory
https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin
Mailing List
https://lists.linuxfoundation.org/pipermail/bitcoin-dev/2021-May/018893.html
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