GHSA-9fvj-xqr2-xwg8
HIGHgnark affected by denial of service when computing scalar multiplication using fake-GLV algorithm
EPSS Exploitation Probability
EPSS (Exploit Prediction Scoring System) is a daily probability model maintained by FIRST.org. It estimates the likelihood a CVE will be exploited in production environments within the next 30 days, derived from real-world threat intelligence signals.
Blast Radius
github.com/consensys/gnarkReal-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
Impact
For optimizing the scalar multiplication algorithm in circuit for some curves, gnark uses fake-GLV algorithm in case the curve doesn't support true-GLV. For this to work, we need to compute the scalar decomposition using the Half GCD method in gnark-crypto. However, for some of the inputs the algorithm didn't converge quickly enough.
In case the prover accepts untrusted witness, it could lead to denial of service as the prover gets stuck in a very slowly converging loop.
Thanks to @feltroidprime for reporting the issue and proposing a fix.
Patches
The issue has been patched in gnark-crypto commit https://github.com/Consensys/gnark-crypto/commit/56600883e0e9f9b159e9c7000b94e76185ec3d0d. The dependency update is implemented in gnark commit https://github.com/Consensys/gnark/commit/68be6cede36e387ab760725beabd3c96cc94e6dc.
Workarounds
This update doesn't require recompiling the circuits as the issue is in the hint function. The users can update the gnark-crypto dependency to the fixed version.
References
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/consensys/gnark | ≥ 0.12.0&&< 0.13.0 | 0.13.0 |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/consensys/gnark. 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 github.com/consensys/gnark to 0.13.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-9fvj-xqr2-xwg8 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-9fvj-xqr2-xwg8 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-9fvj-xqr2-xwg8. 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-9fvj-xqr2-xwg8 in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-9fvj-xqr2-xwg8 across Go dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.