Summary
Evmos vulnerable to exploit of smart contract account and vesting
This advisory board aims to describe two vulnerabilities found in the Evmos codebase:
- Authorization check on the fundVestingAccount: unauthorized spend of funds.
Details
Authorization check on the fundVestingAccount
With the current implementation, a user can create a vesting account with a 3rd party account (EOA or contract) as funder. Then, this user can create an authorization for the contract.CallerAddress, this is the authorization checked in the code. But the funds are taken from the funder address provided in the message. Consequently, the user can fund a vesting account with a 3rd party account without its permission. The funder address can be any address, so this vulnerability can be used to drain all the accounts in the chain.
Severity
Based on ImmuneFi Severity Classification System the severity was evaluated to Critical since the attack could have lead to direct loss of funds.
Impact
The application does not correctly enforce access controls, allowing a principal to access resources or operations beyond their granted permissions. Typical impact: unauthorized data access or execution of privileged operations.
CVE-2024-39696 has a CVSS score of 8.8 (High). The vector is network-reachable, low privileges required, and no user interaction. A CVSS score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether this affects your application depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable in your environment. A fixed version is available (19.0.0); upgrading removes the vulnerable code path.
Affected versions
Security releases
Kodem intelligence
Severity tells you how bad this could be in the worst case. It does not tell you whether you are exposed. Exploitability and impact are functions of runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A vulnerable package can sit in your dependency tree and never run.
Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter. Kodem's runtime-powered SCA identifies whether this CVE is reachable in your applications.
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The issue has been patched in versions >=V19.0.0
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is CVE-2024-39696? CVE-2024-39696 is a high-severity incorrect authorization vulnerability in github.com/evmos/evmos/v18 (go), affecting versions <= 18.0.1. It is fixed in 19.0.0. The application does not correctly enforce access controls, allowing a principal to access resources or operations beyond their granted permissions.
- How severe is CVE-2024-39696? CVE-2024-39696 has a CVSS score of 8.8 (High). This score reflects the worst-case severity of the vulnerability, not your specific exposure. Whether it represents real risk in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable.
- Which versions of github.com/evmos/evmos/v18 are affected by CVE-2024-39696? github.com/evmos/evmos/v18 (go) versions <= 18.0.1 is affected.
- Is there a fix for CVE-2024-39696? Yes. CVE-2024-39696 is fixed in 19.0.0. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is CVE-2024-39696 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether CVE-2024-39696 is exploitable in your environment depends on whether the vulnerable code is present and reachable. A CVSS score is a worst-case rating; it does not account for your specific deployment, configuration, or usage patterns. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to show which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so you can focus on the ones that represent real risk. Get a demo
- What actually determines whether CVE-2024-39696 is exploitable, and how bad it is? Exploitability and impact are not fixed properties of a CVE. They depend on runtime truth: whether the vulnerable code is present, reachable, and actually executes in your application. A high CVSS score on a dependency that never runs is not the same as real risk. Kodem, an Intelligent Application Security platform, uses runtime intelligence to reveal which vulnerabilities actually execute in production, so teams prioritize the ones that genuinely matter.
- How do I fix CVE-2024-39696? Upgrade
github.com/evmos/evmos/v18to 19.0.0 or later.