GHSA-8wcc-m6j2-qxvm — cosmos-sdk
Fix: cosmos/cosmos-sdk@c6b1bdcGHSA-8wcc-m6j2-qxvm is a remote code execution vulnerability in github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk. A fix is available for github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk — see the affected versions and patch details below.
ASA-2024-0012, ASA-2024-0013: CosmosSDK: Transaction decoding may result in a stack overflow or resource exhaustion
Real-World Exposure
github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk🐹github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk🐹cosmossdk.io/x/txReal-time download stats are indexed for npm and PyPI packages. This vulnerability affects Go packages — download data is not available via public APIs for these ecosystems.
Description
Summary
ASA-2024-0012
Name: ASA-2024-0012, Transaction decoding may result in a stack overflow Component: Cosmos SDK Criticality: High (Considerable Impact, and Possible Likelihood per ACMv1.2) Affected versions: cosmos-sdk versions <= v0.50.10, <= v0.47.14 Affected users: Chain Builders + Maintainers, Validators, node operators
ASA-2024-0013
Name: ASA-2024-0013: CosmosSDK: Transaction decoding may result in resource exhaustion
Component: Cosmos SDK
Criticality: High (Considerable Impact, and Possible Likelihood per ACMv1.2)
Affected versions: cosmos-sdk versions <= v0.50.10, <= v0.47.14
Affected users: Chain Builders + Maintainers, Validators, node operators
Impact
ASA-2024-0012
When decoding a maliciously formed packet with a deeply-nested structure, it may be possible for a stack overflow to occur and result in a network halt. This was addressed by adding a recursion limit while decoding the packet.
ASA-2024-0013
Nested messages in a transaction can consume exponential cpu and memory on UnpackAny calls. Themax_tx_bytes sets a limit for external TX but is not applied for internal messages emitted by wasm contracts or a malicious validator block. This may result in a node crashing due to resource exhaustion. This was addressed by adding additional validation to prevent this condition.
Patches
The issues above are resolved in Cosmos SDK versions v0.47.15 or v0.50.11. Please upgrade ASAP.
Timeline for ASA-2024-0012
- October 1, 2024, 12:29pm UTC: Issue reported to the Cosmos Bug Bounty program
- October 1, 2024, 2:47pm UTC: Issue triaged by Amulet on-call, and distributed to Core team
- December 9, 2024, 11:13am UTC: Core team completes patch for issue
- Dec 14, 2024,16:00 UTC: Pre-notification delivered
- Dec 16, 2024, 16:00 UTC: Patch made available
This issue was reported to the Cosmos Bug Bounty Program on HackerOne on October 1, 2024.
Timeline for ASA-2024-0013
- October 19, 2024, 8:12pm UTC: Issue reported to the Cosmos Bug Bounty program
- October 19, 2024, 8:28pm UTC: Issue triaged by Amulet on-call, and distributed to Core team
- December 11, 2024, 3:31pm UTC: Core team completes patch for issue
- Dec 14, 2024, 16:00 UTC: Pre-notification delivered
- Dec 16, 2024, 16:00 UTC: Patch made available
This issue was reported by LonelySloth to the Cosmos Bug Bounty Program on HackerOne on October 19, 2024.
If you believe you have found a bug in the Interchain Stack or would like to contribute to the program by reporting a bug, please see https://hackerone.com/cosmos.
If you have questions about Interchain security efforts, please reach out to our official communication channel at [email protected]. For more information about the Interchain Foundation’s engagement with Amulet, and to sign up for security notification emails, please see https://github.com/interchainio/security.
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk | ≥ 0.50.0-alpha.0&&< 0.50.11 | 0.50.11go get github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk@v0.50.11 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk | all versions | 0.47.15go get github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk@v0.47.15 |
| 🐹Go | cosmossdk.io/x/tx | all versions | 0.13.7go get cosmossdk.io/x/tx@v0.13.7 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update github.com/cosmos/cosmos-sdk to 0.50.11 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-8wcc-m6j2-qxvm 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 Security's impact-aware SCA analyses which vulnerable code paths your application actually calls, so a match like GHSA-8wcc-m6j2-qxvm can be triaged on real exposure rather than presence alone.
Tailored to GHSA-8wcc-m6j2-qxvm. 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-8wcc-m6j2-qxvm in your dependencies?
O3 Security finds GHSA-8wcc-m6j2-qxvm across Go dependencies, including transitive ones, and its impact-aware SCA ranks findings by whether your code actually calls the vulnerable path.