CVE-2023-38701
Hydra's committed UTxOs at Commit validator and UTxOs at Initial validator can be spent arbitrarily by anyone
- Published
- Updated
- Reserved
- Assigned by
- GitHub_M
Description
Hydra is the layer-two scalability solution for Cardano. Users of the Hydra head protocol send the UTxOs they wish to commit into the Hydra head first to the `commit` validator, where they remain until they are either collected into the `head` validator or the protocol initialisation is aborted and the value in the committed UTxOs is returned to the users who committed them. Prior to version 0.12.0, the `commit` validator contains a flawed check when the `ViaAbort` redeemer is used, which allows any user to spend any UTxO which is at the validator arbitrarily, meaning an attacker can steal the funds that users are trying to commit into the head validator. The intended behavior is that the funds must be returned to the user which committed the funds and can only be performed by a participant of the head. The `initial` validator also is similarly affected as the same flawed check is performed for the `ViaAbort` redeemer. Due to this issue, an attacker can steal any funds that user's try to commit into a Hydra head. Also, an attacker can prevent any Hydra head from being successfully opened. It does not allow an attacker to take funds which have been successfully collected into and currently reside in the `head` validator. Version 0.12.0 contains a fix for this issue.
Public exploit
An exploit or proof of concept is public: anyone can try it against an unpatched system. CISA's SSVC rates its exploitation: a proof of concept is public.
Timeline
ID reserved
By GitHub_M
- 2 months later
· 2 months later
Published
- 12 months later
· 12 months later
Record updated
Changes after publication (a new score, a public exploit, EPSS crossing 1, 10 or 50 %, leaving KEV) are kept since November 2026; earlier ones are not known.
Scores
| Scored by | CVSS | Score | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| GitHub_MCNA (assigner) | 3.1 | Critical9.1 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H |
| NVDNVD · Modified | 3.1 | Critical9.1 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:H |
- EPSS (exploitation in 30 days)
- 1.1% · top 33% of all CVEs (7 Nov 2026)
- CISA SSVC
- Exploitation: poc · Automatable: yes · Technical impact: partial
The list uses the assigner's score when there is one, then CISA's, then NVD's: Critical 9.1.
Weakness
Affected products
- affected < 0.12.0
References (4)
- https://github.com/input-output-hk/hydra/security/advisories/GHSA-6x9v-7x5r-w8w6 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_CONFIRMx_transferred
- https://github.com/input-output-hk/hydra/blob/master/CHANGELOG.md#0120---2023-08-18 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
- https://github.com/input-output-hk/hydra/blob/master/hydra-plutus/src/Hydra/Contract/Commit.hs#L94-L97 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
- https://github.com/input-output-hk/hydra/blob/master/hydra-plutus/src/Hydra/Contract/Util.hs#L32-L42 (opens in a new tab)x_refsource_MISCx_transferred
Sources
The same CVE in the primary databases and aggregators, to check against.
- CVE.org record (opens in a new tab)
- CVE List JSON (GitHub) (opens in a new tab)
- NVD (opens in a new tab)
- FIRST EPSS (opens in a new tab)
- OSV.dev (opens in a new tab)
- GitHub Advisories (opens in a new tab)
- CIRCL Vulnerability-Lookup (opens in a new tab)
Badge for a README or a ticket
[](https://trackcve.app/cve/CVE-2023-38701)Record last updated .