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Cryptocurrency News Articles
13.7% of Bitcoin Nodes Vulnerable to Remote Shutdown Attacks Due to Software Flaw
Oct 13, 2024 at 02:00 pm
Recently, developers of Bitcoin exposed a serious software flaw compromising more than 13% of the nodes enforcing the network policies. Found as CVE-2024-35202
Developers of Bitcoin have recently highlighted a critical software vulnerability that affects over 13% of the nodes enforcing the network policies. Tracked as CVE-2024-35202, the issue affects nodes running Bitcoin Core versions past 25.0.
According to Protos, these nodes are vulnerable to remote shutdown attacks, stemming from the program's handling of "blocktxn." Exploiting conflicts in the compact block protocol, an attacker could put a vulnerable node into an invalid state, ultimately crashing it.
The vulnerability arises due to the compact block protocol, which utilizes abbreviated transaction IDs to reduce bandwidth consumption. While this protocol enhances efficiency, it also provides attackers with an avenue to introduce conflicts. These conflicts can prompt vulnerable nodes to request a complete block, potentially crashing the node in the process.
Niklas Gögge discovered and reported the vulnerability, also providing a fix for it. This fix was included in Bitcoin Core version 25.0, which was released in May 2023. However, many nodes have not been upgraded to this version, leaving them susceptible to attack.
Due to the nature of the bug, it is unlikely to be exploited by common hackers for financial gain. However, larger parties, such as governments or corporations, may utilize it in attempts to disrupt the Bitcoin network.
This vulnerability is part of a broader trend, with engineers identifying critical vulnerabilities in older Bitcoin Core versions. Since the Bitcoin Core software does not update automatically, node operators must manually download and install new versions.
Without these updates, nodes running outdated software remain vulnerable to attacks that could shut them down remotely. Currently, around 13.7% of Bitcoin nodes still pose this risk.
To protect against these vulnerabilities, developers strongly advise node operators to upgrade to the latest Bitcoin Core version. In a continuous effort to safeguard the network, the creators of Bitcoin Core are consistently working to enhance the system's security and stability.
As reported earlier, Bitcoin Core version 28.0 was recently released to address another vulnerability that was identified in September. This upgrade introduces additional security measures without compromising the software's functionality, ultimately enhancing user privacy and the overall resilience of the network.
At the time of writing, the price of BTC is around $62,804.68, indicating a slight increase of 0.36% over the past 24 hours.
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