GHSA-c647-pxm2-c52w
HIGHVyper vulnerable to memory corruption in certain builtins utilizing `msize`
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
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Description
Impact
In certain conditions, the memory used by the builtins raw_call, create_from_blueprint and create_copy_of can be corrupted.
- For
raw_call, the argument buffer of the call can be corrupted, leading to incorrectcalldatain the sub-context. - For
create_from_blueprintandcreate_copy_of, the buffer for the to-be-deployed bytecode can be corrupted, leading to deploying incorrect bytecode.
Below are the conditions that must be fulfilled for the corruption to happen for each builtin:
raw_call
- memory is not fully initialized, ex. all parameters to an external function live in calldata and
- The
dataargument of the builtin ismsg.data. and - The
to,valueorgaspassed to the builtin is some complex expression that results in writing to uninitialized memory (e.g. calling an internal function)
create_copy_of
- memory is not fully initialized, ex. all parameters to an external function live in calldata and
- The
valueorsaltpassed to the builtin is some complex expression that results in writing to uninitialized memory (e.g. calling an internal function)
create_from_blueprint
- memory is not fully initialized, ex. all parameters to an external function live in calldata and
- Either no constructor parameters are passed to the builtin or
raw_argsis set to True. and - The
valueorsaltpassed to the builtin is some complex expression that results in writing to uninitialized memory (e.g. calling an internal function)
Note: When the builtin is being called from an internal function f from a function g, the issue is not present provided that g has written to memory before calling f.
Examples
raw_call
In the following contract, calling bar(1,1) will return:
ae42e95100000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff00000001
instead of:
ae42e95100000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000010000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001
identity: constant(address) = 0x0000000000000000000000000000000000000004
@external
def foo():
pass
@internal
@view
def get_address()->address:
a:uint256 = max_value(uint256) # 0xfff...fff
return identity
@external
def bar(f:uint256, u:uint256) -> Bytes[100]:
a: Bytes[100] = raw_call(self.get_address(), msg.data, max_outsize=100)
return a
create_copy_of
In the following contract, after calling test(), the code deployed at self.created_address does not match the bytecode at target.
created_address: public(address)
@external
def test(target: address) -> address:
# The expression in salt= is complex and will require to store to memory
self.created_address = create_copy_of(target, salt = keccak256(_abi_encode(target)))
return self.created_address
create_from_blueprint
In the following contract, after calling test(), the init bytecode used to create the contract deployed at the address self.created_address will not match the blueprint bytecode stored at target.
created_address: public(address)
salt: constant(bytes32) = keccak256("kebab")
@external
@payable
def test(target: address):
# The expression in salt= is complex and will require to store to memory
self.created_address = create_from_blueprint(target, code_offset=0, salt=keccak256(_abi_encode(target)))
Patches
issue tracking in https://github.com/vyperlang/vyper/issues/3609, patched in #3610
Workarounds
The complex expressions that are being passed as kwargs to the builtin should be cached in memory prior to the call to the builtin. For the last example above, it would be:
created_address: public(address)
salt: constant(bytes32) = keccak256("kebab")
@external
@payable
def test(target: address):
salt: bytes32 = keccak256(_abi_encode(target))
self.created_address = create_from_blueprint(target, code_offset=0, salt=salt)
References
Are there any links users can visit to find out more?
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐍PyPI | vyper | ≥ 0.3.4&&< 0.3.10 | 0.3.10 |
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 vyper. 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 vyper to 0.3.10 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-c647-pxm2-c52w 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-c647-pxm2-c52w 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-c647-pxm2-c52w. 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-c647-pxm2-c52w in your dependencies?
O3 detects GHSA-c647-pxm2-c52w across PyPI dependencies and uses function-level reachability to confirm whether the vulnerable code path is actually reachable — not just present. No false positives.