GHSA-5873-6fwq-463f is a medium-severity (CVSS 5.3) CWE-248 vulnerability in stellar-strkey. 2 public exploit references exist, so weaponization risk is real. O3 Security confirms whether GHSA-5873-6fwq-463f is actually reachable in your code before you act, and blocks exploitation at runtime until you patch.
stellar-strkey vulnerable to panic in SignedPayload::from_payload
Real-World Exposure
stellar-strkeyReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects crates.io packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Impact
Panic vulnerability when a specially crafted payload is used. This is because of the following calculation:
inner_payload_len + (4 - inner_payload_len % 4) % 4
If inner_payload_len is 0xffffffff, (4 - inner_payload_len % 4) % 4 = 1 so
inner_payload_len + (4 - inner_payload_len % 4) % 4 = u32::MAX + 1
which overflow.
Patches
Check that inner_payload_len is not above 64 which should never be the case.
Patched in version 0.0.8
Workarounds
Sanitize input payload before it is passed to the vulnerable function so that bytes in payload[32..32+4] and parsed as a u32 is not above 64.
References
GitHub issue #58
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🦀crates.io | stellar-strkey | all versions | 0.0.8 |
Research use only. For defensive security, authorized penetration testing, and academic research only. Never execute exploit code against systems without explicit written authorization.
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for stellar-strkey. O3's reachability analysis confirms whether the vulnerable code path is actually invoked in your application, so you act on real exposure instead of every transitive match.
Fix
Update stellar-strkey to 0.0.8 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-5873-6fwq-463f is resolved across your whole dependency graph.
Workarounds
If you can't upgrade right away: gate or disable the affected feature, validate untrusted input at the boundary, and avoid passing attacker-controlled data into the vulnerable path. O3's runtime protection blocks exploitation in production as an interim safeguard until the upgrade lands.
How O3 protects you
O3 pinpoints whether GHSA-5873-6fwq-463f is reachable in your code and exactly where to fix it, then blocks exploitation in production at runtime until the patched version is deployed.
Tailored to GHSA-5873-6fwq-463f. Runtime protection reduces exposure until a permanent patch is applied and verified — it complements patching, it doesn't replace it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-5873-6fwq-463f in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-5873-6fwq-463f across crates.io dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.