Summary
Denial of service in go-ethereum due to CVE-2020-28362
Workarounds
Rebuilding with Go 1.15.5 or 1.14.12 will suffice to address the vulnerability.
References
- https://blog.ethereum.org/2020/11/12/geth_security_release/
- https://groups.google.com/g/golang-announce/c/NpBGTTmKzpM
For more information
If you have any questions or comments about this advisory:
- Open an issue in go-ethereum
- Email us at [email protected]
Impact
Versions of Geth built with Go <1.15.5 or <1.14.12 are most likely affected by a critical DoS-related security vulnerability. The golang team has registered the underlying flaw as ‘CVE-2020-28362’.
We recommend all users to rebuild (ideally v1.9.24) with Go 1.15.5 or 1.14.12, to avoid node crashes. Alternatively, if you are running binaries distributed via one of our official channels, we’re going to release v1.9.24 ourselves built with Go 1.15.5.
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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See it in your environmentNew to Kodem? Get a demo →Remediation advice
This is not an issue in go-ethereum, rebuilding an older version with Go 1.15.5 or 1.14.12 will suffice to address the vulnerability.
Frequently Asked Questions
- What is GHSA-M6GX-RHVJ-FH52? GHSA-M6GX-RHVJ-FH52 is a critical-severity security vulnerability in github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum (go), affecting versions < 1.9.24. It is fixed in 1.9.24.
- Which versions of github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum are affected by GHSA-M6GX-RHVJ-FH52? github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum (go) versions < 1.9.24 is affected.
- Is there a fix for GHSA-M6GX-RHVJ-FH52? Yes. GHSA-M6GX-RHVJ-FH52 is fixed in 1.9.24. Upgrade to this version or later.
- Is GHSA-M6GX-RHVJ-FH52 exploitable, and should I be worried? Whether GHSA-M6GX-RHVJ-FH52 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-M6GX-RHVJ-FH52 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 GHSA-M6GX-RHVJ-FH52? Upgrade
github.com/ethereum/go-ethereumto 1.9.24 or later.