Sign in
Deutsch English Español Polski
Medium

ecrecover can return undefined data if signature does not verify

  • Disclosed: 25.07.2023
  • Updated: 11.10.2026 11:20

Impact

the ecrecover precompile does not fill the output buffer if the signature does not verify, see https://github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/blob/b058cf454b3bdc7e770e2b3cec83a0bcb48f55ee/core/vm/contracts.go#L188. however, the ecrecover builtin will still return whatever is at memory location 0.

this means that the if the compiler has been convinced to write to the 0 memory location with specially crafted data (generally, this can happen with a hashmap access or immutable read) just before the ecrecover, a signature check might pass on an invalid signature.

A contract search was performed. Most uses of ecrecover are used for erc2612-style permit implementations, which typically look like:

vyper
    assert _owner != empty(address)
    assert block.timestamp <= _deadline
                  
    nonce: uint256 = self.nonces[_owner]
    digest: bytes32 = keccak256(
        concat(   
            b"\x19\x01",
            self.DOMAIN_SEPARATOR,
            keccak256(_abi_encode(PERMIT_TYPEHASH, _owner, _spender, _value, nonce, _deadline))
        )         
    )             
    assert ecrecover(digest, convert(_v, uint256), convert(_r, uint256), convert(_s, uint256)) == _owner

in this case, the immutable PERMIT_TYPEHASH is loaded into ecrecover's output buffer right before ecrecover(), and so the output of ecrecover() here when the signature is invalid will be the value of PERMIT_TYPEHASH. in this case, since PERMIT_TYPEHASH is not a valid address, it will never compare == to _owner, and so the behaviour is exactly the same as if ecrecover() returned 0 in this case.

in general, a contract could have unexpected behavior (i.e. mistakenly pass this style of signature check) if an immutable representing a real address (ex. OWNER) was read right before the ecrecover operation.

Patches

v0.3.10 (with 019a37ab98ff53f04fecfadf602b6cd5ac748f7f and #3586)

Workarounds

Is there a way for users to fix or remediate the vulnerability without upgrading?

References

Are there any links users can visit to find out more?

Affected software

Click a technology to see all vulnerabilities affecting it.

PlatformPackageVulnerable versionsFixed in
Python (PyPI) vyper < 0.3.10 0.3.10

References

CVSS score 5.3/10
CVSS vector
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N
Weakness (CWE)
CWE-252
Platform
Python (PyPI)
Package
vyper
Disclosed
25.07.2023
Updated
11.10.2026 11:20

Sources and licenses

OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - PYSEC-2023-133 - PyPA Advisory Database; CC BY 4.0

OSV / GitHub Advisory Database - GHSA-f5x6-7qgp-jhf3 - CC BY 4.0

Vulnerability history: vyper

All published vulnerabilities of this package (Python (PyPI)), newest first. Shows whether this is a one-off slip or a package that needs watching.

All (47) in the archive
Total entries
47
First → latest
03.2020 10.2026
Without a fix
5
Exploited in attacks
0

Severity breakdown

  • Critical 3
  • High 14
  • Medium 20
  • Low 10

Disclosures per year

Severity:
  1. Vyper negative array index bounds checks
    Critical · 9.8 CVE-2024-24563 < 0.4.0 0.4.0
  2. Vyper's bounds check on built-in `slice()` function can be overflowed
    Critical · 9.8 CVE-2024-24561 < 0.4.0 0.4.0
  3. concat built-in can corrupt memory in vyper
    High · 7.3 CVE-2024-22419 >= 0.3.0, < 0.4.0 0.4.0
  4. incorrect storage layout for contracts containing large arrays
    High · 7.5 CVE-2023-46247 < 0.3.8 0.3.8
  5. Vyper vulnerable to memory corruption in certain builtins utilizing `msize`
    High · 8.1 CVE-2023-42443 >= 0.3.4, < 0.3.10 0.3.10
  6. Vyper has incorrectly allocated named re-entrancy locks
    Critical · 8.7 CVE-2023-39363 >= 0.2.15, < 0.3.1 0.3.1
  7. ecrecover can return undefined data if signature does not verify this entry
    Medium · 5.3 CVE-2023-37902 < 0.3.10 0.3.10
  8. Vyper vulnerable to incorrect ordering of arguments for kwargs passed to internal calls
    High · 7.5 CVE-2023-32059 < 0.3.8 0.3.8
  9. Vyper vulnerable to integer overflow in loop
    High · 7.5 CVE-2023-32058 < 0.3.8 0.3.8
  10. Vyper vulnerable to OOB DynArray access when array is on both LHS and RHS of an assignment
    High · 7.5 CVE-2023-31146 < 0.3.8 0.3.8
  11. vyper vulnerable to storage allocator overflow
    High · 7.5 CVE-2023-30837 < 0.3.8 0.3.8
  12. Incorrect success value returned in vyper
    High · 7.5 CVE-2023-30629 >= 0.3.1, < 0.3.8 0.3.8
  13. Multiple evaluation of contract address in call in vyper
    High · 7.5 CVE-2022-29255 < 0.3.4 0.3.4
  14. Vyper is a pythonic Smart Contract Language for the ethereum virtual machine. In affected versions, the return of `<iface>.returns_int128()` is not validated to fall within the bounds of `int128`. Thi
    High · 8.8 CVE-2022-24845 < 0.3.2 0.3.2
  15. Buffer Overflow in vyper
    High · 7.1 CVE-2022-24788 < 0.3.2 0.3.2
  16. Incorrect Comparison in Vyper
    High · 7.5 CVE-2022-24787 < 0.3.2 0.3.2
  17. Memory corruption when returning a literal struct with a private call inside of it
    High · 7.5 CVE-2021-41121 < 0.3.0 0.3.0
  18. Storage corruption due to variables overwritten by re-entrancy locks
    High ghsa-7f92-rr6w-cq64 >= 0.2.13, < 0.2.15 0.2.15

Know which vulnerabilities affect your application

With the DockRay integration and software inventory enabled, DockRay checks reported component versions against known vulnerabilities and notifies you about confirmed matches. Coverage depends on the supported technology and available advisory data.

Connect your application
DockRay newsletter

Application security in your inbox

Important vulnerabilities, actionable guidance and practical advice for your applications. Choose your technologies and follow what matters to your project.

  • A daily digest of new vulnerabilities, critical ones included.
  • Notifications about important updates.
  • Practical advice on application security and monitoring.

Leave empty to receive updates for every technology.

Privacy policy

Free to subscribe. Unsubscribe with one click in any email.