Geth Node Vulnerable to DoS via maliciously crafted p2p message

Exploitation

No confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next marks exploitation only from CISA KEV.

CVSS

5.7 · CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

EPSS

• CVE-2021-41173: 1.24% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 69.23 (FIRST EPSS, 2026-11-03). This is a model estimate, not proof of exploitation or customer exposure.

As published by the source; long descriptions are shortened.

Impact A vulnerable node is susceptible to crash when processing a maliciously crafted message from a peer, via the snap/1 protocol. The crash can be triggered by sending a malicious snap/1 GetTrieNodes package. Details On September 21, 2021, geth-team member Gary Rong (@rjl493456442) found a way to crash the snap request handler . By using this vulnerability, a peer connected on the snap/1 protocol could cause a vulnerable node to crash with a panic. In the trie.TryGetNode implementation, if the requested path is reached, the associated node will be returned. However the nilness is not checked there. More specifically the origNode can be nil(e.g. the child of fullnode) and system can panic at line hash, = origNode.cache(). When investigating this, @holiman tried to find it via fuzzing, which uncovered a second crasher, also related to the snap GetTrieNodes package. If the caller requests a storage trie: The code assumes that snap.Account returns either a non-nil response unless…

Published by the source

25 Oct 2021, 19:42 UTC

Last modified by the source

29 Aug 2023, 18:55 UTC

Source last checked

26 Oct 2026, 14:58 UTC

1. Revision 1 · created · 26 Oct 2026

   Published from ghsa record GHSA-59hh-656j-3p7v

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# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2021-41173

Advisory: Geth Node Vulnerable to DoS via maliciously crafted p2p message
IDs: CVE-2021-41173, GHSA-59hh-656j-3p7v
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2021-41173 (revision 1, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 14:58 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: Medium (CVSS 5.7)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor fix available; fixed versions by package: github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum 1.10.9. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- Go github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum: affected < 1.10.9; fixed in 1.10.9

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- Go github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum: check the installed version with your package manager.

## Supported action
Upgrade each affected component to a fixed version on its release line. For a transitive dependency, upgrade the parent package or add an override or constraint, then regenerate the lockfile. Redeploy every environment that ran an affected version.

## Required regression checks
- Run the test suite and a production build.
- Exercise the features that depend on github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum.
- Repeat the inspection and confirm that only fixed versions remain installed.

## Rollback considerations
- Keep the previous lockfile and deployment artifact. Rolling back reinstates the vulnerable version, so apply any documented mitigation while you fix forward.

## Unresolved questions
- Which deployments run an affected version?
- Exploitation status can change. Check again before lowering the priority.
- Mark the work resolved only after the fixed version is verified in production.

## Sources
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-59hh-656j-3p7v (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-59hh-656j-3p7v lists affected ranges: Go github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum >=0 <1.10.9)

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