Nimiq: Panic in TrieProof::verify via child_index unwrap on equal-length keys
Summary
| CVE | CVE-2026-54541 |
|---|---|
| State | PUBLISHED |
| Assigner | GitHub_M |
| Source Priority | CVE Program / NVD first with legacy fallback |
| Published | 2026-09-14 16:17:12 UTC |
| Updated | 2026-09-30 17:51:56 UTC |
| Description | Nimiq is a Rust implementation of the Nimiq Proof-of-Stake protocol based on the Albatross consensus algorithm. Prior to 1.6.0, a malicious state-sync peer can crash a syncing node by sending a crafted TrieChunk proof containing two TrieProofNode values with identical keys. TrieProof::verify calls TrieProofNode::child_index in primitives/src/trie/trie_proof_node.rs, where is_prefix_of accepts equal keys and KeyNibbles::get is called at the key length, returns None, and is unconditionally unwrapped. Untrusted ResponseChunk data reaches commit_chunks, put_chunk, and proof.verify before cryptographic proof validation, so the attacker does not need a valid proof. Exploitation requires the attacker to be selected as the victim's sync peer during state sync, and the resulting panic is transient because the node restarts and resynchronizes. This issue is fixed in version 1.6.0. |
Risk And Classification
Primary CVSS: v3.1 3.7 LOW from [email protected]
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
EPSS: 0.004430000 probability, percentile 0.360530000 (date 2026-09-29)
Problem Types: CWE-248 | CWE-248 CWE-248: Uncaught Exception
| Version | Source | Type | Score | Severity | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.1 | [email protected] | Secondary | 3.7 | LOW | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L |
| 3.1 | CNA | DECLARED | 3.7 | LOW | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L |
CVSS v3.1 Breakdown
Attack Vector
NetworkAttack Complexity
HighPrivileges Required
NoneUser Interaction
NoneScope
UnchangedConfidentiality
NoneIntegrity
NoneAvailability
LowCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
Vendor Declared Affected Products
| Source | Vendor | Product | Version | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CNA | Nimiq | Core-rs-albatross | affected < 1.6.0 | Not specified |
References
| Reference | Source | Link | Tags |
|---|---|---|---|
| github.com/nimiq/core-rs-albatross/security/advisories/GHSA-46wq-28cx-mhw4 | [email protected] | github.com | |
| github.com/nimiq/core-rs-albatross/commit/41d35acee1b5cf3bc34ec3ddc1abbc... | [email protected] | github.com | |
| github.com/nimiq/core-rs-albatross/releases/tag/v1.6.0 | [email protected] | github.com | |
| github.com/nimiq/core-rs-albatross/pull/3789 | [email protected] | github.com | |
| CVE Program record | CVE.ORG | www.cve.org | canonical |
| NVD vulnerability detail | NVD | nvd.nist.gov | canonical, analysis |
No vendor comments have been submitted for this CVE.
There are currently no legacy QID mappings associated with this CVE.