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RUSTSEC-2026-0216
No affected components available
The NIP-44 v2 decryption path in the nostr crate contains a reachable panic
when processing a short or empty ciphertext. After the HMAC check passes and the
ciphertext is decrypted via ChaCha20, the code reads a 2‑byte unpadded‑length
prefix via buffer[0..2] without first verifying that the decrypted buffer
contains at least 2 bytes. A malicious sender who holds the symmetric
conversation key (e.g., a direct‑message sender) can craft a payload that
produces a 0 or 1‑byte decrypted buffer, causing an index‑out‑of‑bounds panic.
This can be triggered remotely through any relay that delivers the crafted
event to the victim's client, resulting in a denial of service. No key material,
plaintext, or memory corruption occurs.
The vulnerability is present in all versions from 0.26.0 up to 0.44.4
(inclusive) and in the alpha releases 0.45.0‑alpha.1 through 0.45.0‑alpha.4.
Versions 0.44.5 and 0.45.0‑alpha.5 contain the fix.
Credit
Discovered and responsibly disclosed by Muhammed Shekho (info@mhd-shekho.com, mhd-shekho.com).
The vulnerability can be exploited over the network without needing physical access. It is easy for an attacker to exploit this vulnerability. An attacker does not need any special privileges or access rights. No user interaction is needed for the attacker to exploit this vulnerability. The impact is confined to the system where the vulnerability exists. There is a high impact on the availability of the system.
Exploitation attempts have been detected. Elevated vigilance and prompt remediation are advised.
Probability that this vulnerability will be exploited in the wild within the next 30 days.
We did not find any exploit available. Neither in GitHub repositories nor in the Exploit-Database.
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