Babylon Nil BlockHash in BLS vote extensions triggers panics in consensus handlersGHSA-m6wq-66p2-c8pc
Fix: babylonlabs-io/babylon@f79ad58GHSA-m6wq-66p2-c8pc is a security vulnerability in github.com/babylonlabs-io/babylon/v4. A fix is available for github.com/babylonlabs-io/babylon/v4 — see the affected versions and patch details below.
Real-World Exposure
github.com/babylonlabs-io/babylon/v4🐹github.com/babylonlabs-io/babylon/v3🐹github.com/babylonlabs-io/babylon/v2🐹github.com/babylonlabs-io/babylonReal-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
A vulnerability exists in Babylon’s BLS vote extension processing where a malicious active validator can submit a VoteExtension with the block_hash field omitted from the protobuf serialization. Because protobuf fields are optional, unmarshalling succeeds but leaves BlockHash as nil. Babylon then dereferences this nil pointer in consensus-critical code paths (notably VerifyVoteExtension, and also proposal-time vote verification), causing a runtime panic.
Impact
Intermittent validator crashes at epoch boundaries, which would slow down the creation of the epoch boundary block.
Finder
Vulnerability discovered by:
- @GrumpyLaurie55348
Affected Packages
| Ecosystem | Package | Vulnerable range | Fix |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🐹Go | github.com/babylonlabs-io/babylon/v4 | all versions | 4.2.0go get github.com/babylonlabs-io/babylon/v4@v4.2.0 |
| 🐹Go | github.com/babylonlabs-io/babylon/v3 | all versions | No fix |
| 🐹Go | github.com/babylonlabs-io/babylon/v2 | all versions | No fix |
| 🐹Go | github.com/babylonlabs-io/babylon | all versions | No fix |
Detection & mitigation playbook
Open-source dependencyDetect
Scan your dependency tree (package-lock.json, pnpm-lock.yaml, requirements.txt, go.sum, etc.) for github.com/babylonlabs-io/babylon/v4, including transitive dependencies — a direct dependency you never call can still pull in a vulnerable version.
Fix
Update github.com/babylonlabs-io/babylon/v4 to 4.2.0 or later, then make sure no transitive (indirect) dependency still pins the vulnerable range — O3 confirms GHSA-m6wq-66p2-c8pc 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GHSA-m6wq-66p2-c8pc in your dependencies?
Find it across Go, including transitive dependencies.