Medium severity · published Dec 9, 2023
CVE-2023-50428
In Bitcoin Core through 26.0 and Bitcoin Knots before 25.1.knots20231115, datacarrier size limits can be bypassed by obfuscating data as code (e.g., with OP_FALSE OP_IF), as…
5.3
CVSS
0.8%
EPSS
No
On KEV
Description
In Bitcoin Core through 26.0 and Bitcoin Knots before 25.1.knots20231115, datacarrier size limits can be bypassed by obfuscating data as code (e.g., with OP_FALSE OP_IF), as exploited in the wild by Inscriptions in 2022 and 2023. NOTE: although this is a vulnerability from the perspective of the Bitcoin Knots project, some others consider it "not a bug."
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
Low
Scope
Unchanged
Exploitation
Is it being used?
Exploit prediction (EPSS)0.8% · higher than 56% of CVEs
Exploited in the wildNo evidence yet
CISA KEVNot listed
Ransomware campaign useNot known
Affected products
Which versions
BC
Bitcoin Core · Bitcoin
0.9 through 26.0 · source: NVD
BK
Bitcoin Knots · Bitcoinknots
0.9 before 25.1 · source: NVD
References
NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-50428
CVE.org
https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2023-50428
Third Party Advisory
https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Common_Vulnerabilities_and_Exposures
github.com
https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/blob/65c05db660b2ca1d0076b0d8573a6760b3228068/src/kernel/mempool_options.h#L46-L53
Issue Tracking
https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/pull/28408#issuecomment-1844981799
Product
https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/tags
Release Notes
https://github.com/bitcoinknots/bitcoin/blob/aed49ce8989334c364a219a6eb016a3897d4e3d7/doc/release-notes.md
Issue Tracking
https://twitter.com/LukeDashjr/status/1732204937466032285
More from Bitcoin Core
9.8
CVE-2015-20111
miniupnp before 4c90b87, as used in Bitcoin Core before 0.12 and other products, lacks checks for snprintf return values, leading to a buffer overflow and significant data leak, a…
7.5
CVE-2025-46597
Bitcoin Core 0.13.0 through 29.x has an integer overflow
7.5
CVE-2025-54605
Bitcoin Core through 29.0 allows Uncontrolled Resource Consumption (issue 2 of 2)
7.5
CVE-2025-54604
Bitcoin Core through 29.0 allows Uncontrolled Resource Consumption (issue 1 of 2)
7.5
CVE-2024-52912
Bitcoin Core before 0.21.0 allows a network split that is resultant from an integer overflow (calculating the time offset for newly connecting peers) and an abs64 logic bug
