CVE-2024-27094
OpenZeppelin Contracts base64 encoding may read from potentially dirty memory
OpenZeppelin Contracts is a library for secure smart contract development. The Base64.encode function encodes a bytes input by iterating over it in chunks of 3 bytes. When this input is not a multiple of 3, the last iteration may read parts of the memory that are beyond the input buffer. The vulnerability is fixed in 5.0.2 and 4.9.6.
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- High
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- Low
- Availability
- High
Exploit likelihood
What each source reports
CVE List Score used
6.5
OpenZeppelin Contracts base64 encoding may read from potentially dirty memory
OpenZeppelin Contracts is a library for secure smart contract development. The Base64.encode function encodes a bytes input by iterating over it in chunks of 3 bytes. When this input is not a multiple of 3, the last iteration may read parts of the memory that are beyond the input buffer. The vulnerability is fixed in 5.0.2 and 4.9.6.
- Record
CVE-2024-27094- CVSS 3.1
- 6.5 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-125
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
EUVDEUVD-2024-0602
6.5
OpenZeppelin Contracts is a library for secure smart contract development. The Base64.encode function encodes a bytes input by iterating over it in chunks of 3 bytes. When this input is not a multiple of 3, the last iteration may read parts of the memory that are beyond the input buffer. The vulnerability is fixed in 5.0.2 and 4.9.6.
- Record
EUVD-2024-0602- CVSS 3.1
- 6.5 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-03
GitHub AdvisoriesGHSA-9vx6-7xxf-x967
6.5
OpenZeppelin Contracts base64 encoding may read from potentially dirty memory
Impact
The Base64.encode function encodes a bytes input by iterating over it in chunks of 3 bytes. When this input is not a multiple of 3, the last iteration may read parts of the memory that are beyond the input buffer.
Although the encode function pads the output for these cases, up to 4 bits of data are kept between the encoding and padding, corrupting the output if these bits were dirty (i.e. memory after the input is not 0). These conditions are more frequent in the following scenarios:
- A
bytes memorystruct is allocated just after the input and the first bytes of it are non-zero. - The memory pointer is set to a non-empty memory location before allocating the input.
Developers should evaluate whether the extra bits can be maliciously manipulated by an attacker.
Patches
Upgrade to 5.0.2 or 4.9.6.
References
This issue was reported by the Independent Security Researcher Riley Holterhus through Immunefi (@rileyholterhus on X)
- Record
GHSA-9vx6-7xxf-x967- CVSS 3.1
- 6.5 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-125
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
NVD
6.5
OpenZeppelin Contracts is a library for secure smart contract development. The Base64.encode function encodes a bytes input by iterating over it in chunks of 3 bytes. When this input is not a multiple of 3, the last iteration may read parts of the memory that are beyond the input buffer. The vulnerability is fixed in 5.0.2 and 4.9.6.
- Record
CVE-2024-27094- CVSS 3.1
- 6.5 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:H - CVSS 3.1
- 7.4 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-125
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSV
6.5
OpenZeppelin Contracts base64 encoding may read from potentially dirty memory
OpenZeppelin Contracts is a library for secure smart contract development. The Base64.encode function encodes a bytes input by iterating over it in chunks of 3 bytes. When this input is not a multiple of 3, the last iteration may read parts of the memory that are beyond the input buffer. The vulnerability is fixed in 5.0.2 and 4.9.6.
- Record
CVE-2024-27094- CVSS 3.1
- 6.5 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-125
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
OSVGHSA-9vx6-7xxf-x967
6.5
OpenZeppelin Contracts base64 encoding may read from potentially dirty memory
Impact
The Base64.encode function encodes a bytes input by iterating over it in chunks of 3 bytes. When this input is not a multiple of 3, the last iteration may read parts of the memory that are beyond the input buffer.
Although the encode function pads the output for these cases, up to 4 bits of data are kept between the encoding and padding, corrupting the output if these bits were dirty (i.e. memory after the input is not 0). These conditions are more frequent in the following scenarios:
- A
bytes memorystruct is allocated just after the input and the first bytes of it are non-zero. - The memory pointer is set to a non-empty memory location before allocating the input.
Developers should evaluate whether the extra bits can be maliciously manipulated by an attacker.
Patches
Upgrade to 5.0.2 or 4.9.6.
References
This issue was reported by the Independent Security Researcher Riley Holterhus through Immunefi (@rileyholterhus on X)
- Record
GHSA-9vx6-7xxf-x967- CVSS 3.1
- 6.5 Medium
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:H - Weakness
- CWE-125
- Updated
- 2026-11-02
Affected products
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
@openzeppelin/contractsnpm |
4.5.0 up to 4.9.6 | 4.9.6 |
@openzeppelin/contracts-upgradeablenpm |
5.0.0-rc.0 up to 5.0.2 | 5.0.2 |
@openzeppelin/contractsnpm |
5.0.0-rc.0 up to 5.0.2 | 5.0.2 |
@openzeppelin/contracts-upgradeablenpm |
4.5.0 up to 4.9.6 | 4.9.6 |
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| aliases, published | EUVD | |
| first indexed | CVE List, GitHub Advisories, NVD, OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.
In short
CVE-2024-27094 is a medium vulnerability (CVSS 6.5) in Openzeppelin Contracts, published February 29, 2024. No source lists public exploit code. EPSS puts the chance of exploitation in the next 30 days at 0.76%, the 55th percentile. Fixed in @openzeppelin/contracts 4.9.6.
References
github.com/OpenZeppelin/openzeppelin-contracts/security/advisories/GHSA-9vx6-7xxf-x967
github.com/OpenZeppelin/openzeppelin-contracts-upgradeable/commit/2d081f24cac1a867f6f73d512f2022e1fa987854
github.com/OpenZeppelin/openzeppelin-contracts-upgradeable/commit/723f8cab09cdae1aca9ec9cc1cfa040c2d4b06c1
github.com/OpenZeppelin/openzeppelin-contracts/commit/92224533b1263772b0774eec3134e132a3d7b2a6
github.com/OpenZeppelin/openzeppelin-contracts/commit/a6286d0fded8771b3a645e5813e51993c490399c
nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2024-27094
github.com/advisories/GHSA-9vx6-7xxf-x967
github.com/CVEProject/cvelistV5/tree/main/cves/2024/27xxx/CVE-2024-27094.json
github.com/OpenZeppelin/openzeppelin-contracts