GHSA-hrqp-8w79-gwgw
Remote Denial of Service via malformed NIP‑44 v2 payload
GHSA-hrqp-8w79-gwgw is a high vulnerability (CVSS 7.5) in nostr, published July 25, 2026. No source lists public exploit code. Fixed in nostr 0.44.5.
- Severity
- 7.5 HighCVSS 3.1, OSV
- Exploit chance
- UnscoredNo EPSS score yet
- Exploitation
- None knownNot on CISA’s or ENISA’s lists
- Fixed in
0.44.5nostr
Description
The NIP-44 v2 decryption path in the nostr crate contains a reachable panic
when processing a short or empty ciphertext. After the HMAC check passes and the
ciphertext is decrypted via ChaCha20, the code reads a 2‑byte unpadded‑length
prefix via buffer[0..2] without first verifying that the decrypted buffer
contains at least 2 bytes. A malicious sender who holds the symmetric
conversation key (e.g., a direct‑message sender) can craft a payload that
produces a 0 or 1‑byte decrypted buffer, causing an index‑out‑of‑bounds panic.
This can be triggered remotely through any relay that delivers the crafted
event to the victim's client, resulting in a denial of service. No key material,
plaintext, or memory corruption occurs.
The vulnerability is present in all versions from 0.26.0 up to 0.44.4
(inclusive) and in the alpha releases 0.45.0‑alpha.1 through 0.45.0‑alpha.4.
Versions 0.44.5 and 0.45.0‑alpha.5 contain the fix.
Credit
Discovered and responsibly disclosed by Muhammed Shekho (mhd-shekho.com).
Attack profile
How easy it is to exploit
- Attack vector
- Network
- Complexity
- Low
- Privileges needed
- None
- User interaction
- None
What an attacker can affect
- Confidentiality
- None
- Integrity
- None
- Availability
- High
Affected packages
| Package | Affected | Fixed |
|---|---|---|
nostrcrates.io | 0.0.0-0 up to 0.44.5, 0.45.0-alpha.1 up to 0.45.0-alpha.5 | 0.44.50.45.0-alpha.5 |
What each source reports
OSV Score usedRUSTSEC-2026-0216
Remote Denial of Service via malformed NIP‑44 v2 payload
The NIP-44 v2 decryption path in the nostr crate contains a reachable panic
when processing a short or empty ciphertext. After the HMAC check passes and the
ciphertext is decrypted via ChaCha20, the code reads a 2‑byte unpadded‑length
prefix via buffer[0..2] without first verifying that the decrypted buffer
contains at least 2 bytes. A malicious sender who holds the symmetric
conversation key (e.g., a direct‑message sender) can craft a payload that
produces a 0 or 1‑byte decrypted buffer, causing an index‑out‑of‑bounds panic.
This can be triggered remotely through any relay that delivers the crafted
event to the victim's client, resulting in a denial of service. No key material,
plaintext, or memory corruption occurs.
The vulnerability is present in all versions from 0.26.0 up to 0.44.4
(inclusive) and in the alpha releases 0.45.0‑alpha.1 through 0.45.0‑alpha.4.
Versions 0.44.5 and 0.45.0‑alpha.5 contain the fix.
Credit
Discovered and responsibly disclosed by Muhammed Shekho (mhd-shekho.com).
- Record
RUSTSEC-2026-0216- CVSS 3.1
- 7.5 High
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H - Updated
- 2026-11-02
History
| Recorded | Changed | Sources |
|---|---|---|
| first indexed | OSV |
Dates are when Every CVE recorded each change. Upstream dates may differ.