Summary
RISC Zero zkVM notes on zero-knowledge
RISC Zero zkVM was designed from its inception to provide three main guarantees:
- Computational integrity: that a given software program executed correctly.
- Succinctness: that the proof of execution does not grow in relation to the program being executed.
- Zero Knowledge: that details of the program execution are not visible within the proof of program execution.
Ulrich Habock and Al Kindi have released new research that indicates that several STARK implementations -including our RISC Zero zkVM- do not meet the requirements to assert the specific property of zero knowledge provably.
While a vast majority of real-world applications that leverage RISC Zero zkVM or similar systems depend primarily on computational integrity and succinctness, a subset of applications critically depend on the privacy guarantees provided by zero-knowledge; and for those use cases, users are cautioned to understand the research and make informed decisions based on the risks outlined in using an impacted system.
Although the maintainers are not aware of any attacks that can take advantage of this potential weakness, they are working to proactively address this discovery as quickly as possible.
Impact
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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Frequently Asked Questions
- What is GHSA-5XGJ-PMJJ-GW49? GHSA-5XGJ-PMJJ-GW49 is a low-severity security vulnerability in risc0-zkvm (rust), affecting versions <= 1.0.2. No fixed version is listed yet.
- Which versions of risc0-zkvm are affected by GHSA-5XGJ-PMJJ-GW49? risc0-zkvm (rust) versions <= 1.0.2 is affected.
- Is there a fix for GHSA-5XGJ-PMJJ-GW49? No fixed version is listed for GHSA-5XGJ-PMJJ-GW49 yet. Monitor the advisory for updates and apply mitigations in the interim.
- Is GHSA-5XGJ-PMJJ-GW49 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether GHSA-5XGJ-PMJJ-GW49 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 GHSA-5XGJ-PMJJ-GW49 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.