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Fencer Intel
high 7.5

GHSA-xg7c-246g-6qpv json

Remote Denial of Service via malformed NIP-04 IV

published 3mo ago modified 3mo ago also RUSTSEC-2026-0219

cvss
7.5
version 3.1, OSV
cisa kev
Not listed
not in CISA's catalog
epss
—
no score, EPSS covers CVEs only
public exploits
0
none known

Summary

The `nostr` crate did not validate the length of the initialization vector decoded from the `?iv=` portion of a NIP-04 encrypted message.

The decoded IV was converted from a byte slice to the 16-byte AES-CBC IV type using a conversion that asserts the slice length. As a result, an IV whose decoded length was not exactly 16 bytes caused a panic before ciphertext decryption. For example, `?iv=AAAA` decodes to a three-byte IV and triggers the panic.

Applications that decrypt untrusted NIP-04 content are affected. The issue is also reachable through NIP-47 (Nostr Wallet Connect), where response and notification events from a malicious or compromised wallet service are passed to NIP-04 decryption. If the panic is not isolated, a crafted event can terminate the application or disrupt message processing, causing a denial of service.

The issue does not affect confidentiality or integrity.

The flaw was corrected by converting the decoded IV to `[u8; 16]` using a checked conversion. Invalid IV lengths now return a `Malformed` error instead of panicking.

## Credit

Discovered and responsibly disclosed by **Muhammed Shekho** ([mhd-shekho.com](https://mhd-shekho.com)).

Patch / fix

  • crates.io nostr 0.44.6, 0.45.0-alpha.6

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CVSS scores

assigned by version score vector
OSV 3.1 7.5 CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Affected packages

ecosystem package affected fixed in
crates.io nostr
>=0.0.0-0, <0.44.6
>=0.45.0-alpha.1, <0.45.0-alpha.6
0.44.6
0.45.0-alpha.6

References

Sources

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