8.1
HIGH
CVE-2023-42449
Cardano Hydra PT Token Extraction and Spoofing Vulnerability
Description

Hydra is the two-layer scalability solution for Cardano. Prior to version 0.13.0, it is possible for a malicious head initializer to extract one or more PTs for the head they are initializing due to incorrect data validation logic in the head token minting policy which then results in an flawed check for burning the head ST in the `initial` validator. This is possible because it is not checked in `HeadTokens.hs` that the datums of the outputs at the `initial` validator are equal to the real head ID, and it is also not checked in the `off-chain code`. During the `Initial` state of the protocol, if the malicious initializer removes a PT from the Hydra scripts it becomes impossible for any other participant to reclaim any funds they have attempted to commit into the head, as to do so the Abort transaction must burn all the PTs for the head, but they cannot burn the PT which the attacker controls and so cannot satisfy this requirement. That means the initializer can lock the other participants committed funds forever or until they choose to return the PT (ransom). The malicious initializer can also use the PT to spoof that they have committed a particular TxO when progressing the head into the `Open` state. For example, they could say they committed a TxO residing at their address containing 100 ADA, but in fact this 100 ADA was not moved into the head, and thus in order for an other participant to perform the fanout they will be forced to pay the attacker the 100 ADA out of their own funds, as the fanout transaction must pay all the committed TxOs (even though the attacker did not really commit that TxO). They can do this by placing the PT in a UTxO with a well-formed `Commit` datum with whatever contents they like, then use this UTxO in the `collectCom` transaction. There may be other possible ways to abuse having control of a PT. Version 0.13.0 fixes this issue.

INFO

Published Date :

Oct. 4, 2023, 8:15 p.m.

Last Modified :

Oct. 10, 2023, 2:53 p.m.

Remotely Exploitable :

Yes !

Impact Score :

5.2

Exploitability Score :

2.8
Affected Products

The following products are affected by CVE-2023-42449 vulnerability. Even if cvefeed.io is aware of the exact versions of the products that are affected, the information is not represented in the table below.

ID Vendor Product Action
1 Iohk hydra

We scan GitHub repositories to detect new proof-of-concept exploits. Following list is a collection of public exploits and proof-of-concepts, which have been published on GitHub (sorted by the most recently updated).

Results are limited to the first 15 repositories due to potential performance issues.

The following list is the news that have been mention CVE-2023-42449 vulnerability anywhere in the article.

The following table lists the changes that have been made to the CVE-2023-42449 vulnerability over time.

Vulnerability history details can be useful for understanding the evolution of a vulnerability, and for identifying the most recent changes that may impact the vulnerability's severity, exploitability, or other characteristics.

  • CVE Modified by [email protected]

    May. 14, 2024

    Action Type Old Value New Value
  • Initial Analysis by [email protected]

    Oct. 10, 2023

    Action Type Old Value New Value
    Added CVSS V3.1 NIST AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H
    Changed Reference Type https://github.com/input-output-hk/hydra/blob/1e13b60a7b21c5ccd6c36e3cf220547f5d443cef/hydra-node/src/Hydra/Chain/Direct/Tx.hs#L645-L761 No Types Assigned https://github.com/input-output-hk/hydra/blob/1e13b60a7b21c5ccd6c36e3cf220547f5d443cef/hydra-node/src/Hydra/Chain/Direct/Tx.hs#L645-L761 Product
    Changed Reference Type https://github.com/input-output-hk/hydra/blob/1e13b60a7b21c5ccd6c36e3cf220547f5d443cef/hydra-plutus/src/Hydra/Contract/Initial.hs#L84-L91 No Types Assigned https://github.com/input-output-hk/hydra/blob/1e13b60a7b21c5ccd6c36e3cf220547f5d443cef/hydra-plutus/src/Hydra/Contract/Initial.hs#L84-L91 Product
    Changed Reference Type https://github.com/input-output-hk/hydra/blob/master/CHANGELOG.md#0130---2023-10-03 No Types Assigned https://github.com/input-output-hk/hydra/blob/master/CHANGELOG.md#0130---2023-10-03 Release Notes
    Changed Reference Type https://github.com/input-output-hk/hydra/blob/master/hydra-plutus/src/Hydra/Contract/HeadTokens.hs#L76-L136 No Types Assigned https://github.com/input-output-hk/hydra/blob/master/hydra-plutus/src/Hydra/Contract/HeadTokens.hs#L76-L136 Product
    Changed Reference Type https://github.com/input-output-hk/hydra/security/advisories/GHSA-9m8q-7wxv-v65p No Types Assigned https://github.com/input-output-hk/hydra/security/advisories/GHSA-9m8q-7wxv-v65p Exploit, Vendor Advisory
    Added CWE NIST NVD-CWE-noinfo
    Added CPE Configuration OR *cpe:2.3:a:iohk:hydra:*:*:*:*:*:*:*:* versions up to (excluding) 0.13.0
EPSS is a daily estimate of the probability of exploitation activity being observed over the next 30 days. Following chart shows the EPSS score history of the vulnerability.
CWE - Common Weakness Enumeration

While CVE identifies specific instances of vulnerabilities, CWE categorizes the common flaws or weaknesses that can lead to vulnerabilities. CVE-2023-42449 is associated with the following CWEs:

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC)

Common Attack Pattern Enumeration and Classification (CAPEC) stores attack patterns, which are descriptions of the common attributes and approaches employed by adversaries to exploit the CVE-2023-42449 weaknesses.

CAPEC-3: Using Leading 'Ghost' Character Sequences to Bypass Input Filters Using Leading 'Ghost' Character Sequences to Bypass Input Filters CAPEC-7: Blind SQL Injection Blind SQL Injection CAPEC-8: Buffer Overflow in an API Call Buffer Overflow in an API Call CAPEC-9: Buffer Overflow in Local Command-Line Utilities Buffer Overflow in Local Command-Line Utilities CAPEC-10: Buffer Overflow via Environment Variables Buffer Overflow via Environment Variables CAPEC-13: Subverting Environment Variable Values Subverting Environment Variable Values CAPEC-14: Client-side Injection-induced Buffer Overflow Client-side Injection-induced Buffer Overflow CAPEC-22: Exploiting Trust in Client Exploiting Trust in Client CAPEC-23: File Content Injection File Content Injection CAPEC-24: Filter Failure through Buffer Overflow Filter Failure through Buffer Overflow CAPEC-28: Fuzzing Fuzzing CAPEC-31: Accessing/Intercepting/Modifying HTTP Cookies Accessing/Intercepting/Modifying HTTP Cookies CAPEC-42: MIME Conversion MIME Conversion CAPEC-43: Exploiting Multiple Input Interpretation Layers Exploiting Multiple Input Interpretation Layers CAPEC-45: Buffer Overflow via Symbolic Links Buffer Overflow via Symbolic Links CAPEC-46: Overflow Variables and Tags Overflow Variables and Tags CAPEC-47: Buffer Overflow via Parameter Expansion Buffer Overflow via Parameter Expansion CAPEC-52: Embedding NULL Bytes Embedding NULL Bytes CAPEC-53: Postfix, Null Terminate, and Backslash Postfix, Null Terminate, and Backslash CAPEC-63: Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) CAPEC-64: Using Slashes and URL Encoding Combined to Bypass Validation Logic Using Slashes and URL Encoding Combined to Bypass Validation Logic CAPEC-67: String Format Overflow in syslog() String Format Overflow in syslog() CAPEC-71: Using Unicode Encoding to Bypass Validation Logic Using Unicode Encoding to Bypass Validation Logic CAPEC-72: URL Encoding URL Encoding CAPEC-73: User-Controlled Filename User-Controlled Filename CAPEC-78: Using Escaped Slashes in Alternate Encoding Using Escaped Slashes in Alternate Encoding CAPEC-79: Using Slashes in Alternate Encoding Using Slashes in Alternate Encoding CAPEC-80: Using UTF-8 Encoding to Bypass Validation Logic Using UTF-8 Encoding to Bypass Validation Logic CAPEC-81: Web Server Logs Tampering Web Server Logs Tampering CAPEC-83: XPath Injection XPath Injection CAPEC-85: AJAX Footprinting AJAX Footprinting CAPEC-88: OS Command Injection OS Command Injection CAPEC-101: Server Side Include (SSI) Injection Server Side Include (SSI) Injection CAPEC-104: Cross Zone Scripting Cross Zone Scripting CAPEC-108: Command Line Execution through SQL Injection Command Line Execution through SQL Injection CAPEC-109: Object Relational Mapping Injection Object Relational Mapping Injection CAPEC-110: SQL Injection through SOAP Parameter Tampering SQL Injection through SOAP Parameter Tampering CAPEC-120: Double Encoding Double Encoding CAPEC-135: Format String Injection Format String Injection CAPEC-136: LDAP Injection LDAP Injection CAPEC-153: Input Data Manipulation Input Data Manipulation CAPEC-182: Flash Injection Flash Injection CAPEC-209: XSS Using MIME Type Mismatch XSS Using MIME Type Mismatch CAPEC-230: Serialized Data with Nested Payloads Serialized Data with Nested Payloads CAPEC-231: Oversized Serialized Data Payloads Oversized Serialized Data Payloads CAPEC-250: XML Injection XML Injection CAPEC-261: Fuzzing for garnering other adjacent user/sensitive data Fuzzing for garnering other adjacent user/sensitive data CAPEC-267: Leverage Alternate Encoding Leverage Alternate Encoding CAPEC-473: Signature Spoof Signature Spoof CAPEC-588: DOM-Based XSS DOM-Based XSS CAPEC-664: Server Side Request Forgery Server Side Request Forgery
Exploit Prediction

EPSS is a daily estimate of the probability of exploitation activity being observed over the next 30 days.

0.08 }} 0.01%

score

0.36250

percentile

CVSS31 - Vulnerability Scoring System
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