Valid ECDSA signatures erroneously rejected in Elliptic

Exploitation

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

CVSS 4.0

2.3 · CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:H/AT:P/PR:N/UI:P/VC:N/VI:L/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N · score source

EPSS

• CVE-2024-48948: 0.55% estimated exploitation activity in the next 30 days; percentile 46.22 (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.

The Elliptic prior to 6.6.0 for Node.js, in its for ECDSA implementation, does not correctly verify valid signatures if the hash contains at least four leading 0 bytes and when the order of the elliptic curve's base point is smaller than the hash, because of an truncateToN anomaly. This leads to valid signatures being rejected. Legitimate transactions or communications may be incorrectly flagged as invalid.

Published by the source

15 Oct 2024, 15:30 UTC

Last modified by the source

27 Nov 2025, 08:58 UTC

Source last checked

26 Oct 2026, 12:38 UTC

1. Revision 3 · amended · 26 Oct 2026

   Amended from ghsa record GHSA-fc9h-whq2-v747

2. Revision 2 · amended · 24 Oct 2026

   Reviewed OSV alias/range/CVSS4 correction; package source scopes and original publication preserved. No customer finding resolved.

3. Revision 1 · created · 24 Oct 2026

   Published from osv record GHSA-fc9h-whq2-v747

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# Patch Next advisory brief: CVE-2024-48948

Advisory: Valid ECDSA signatures erroneously rejected in Elliptic
IDs: CVE-2024-48948, GHSA-fc9h-whq2-v747
Record: https://patchnext.com/advisories/cve-2024-48948 (revision 3, source checked 26 Oct 2026, 12:38 UTC)
Inventory: none attached. This brief comes from a public page and does not say whether any deployment is affected.
Severity: Low (CVSS 2.3)
Exploitation: no confirmed exploitation recorded. Patch Next confirms exploitation only from CISA KEV.
Vendor response: Vendor fix available; fixed versions by package: elliptic 6.6.0. A vendor fix does not mean a deployment is fixed.

## Affected components
- npm elliptic: affected < 6.6.0; fixed in 6.6.0

## Suggested inspection (read-only)
- `npm ls elliptic --all`: lists every installed copy and version, including transitive ones. Run in the project root after `npm ci`.

## 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 elliptic.
- 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://osv.dev/vulnerability/GHSA-fc9h-whq2-v747 (OSV record GHSA-fc9h-whq2-v747 lists affected ranges: npm elliptic >=0 <6.6.0 (fixed))
- Verified: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-fc9h-whq2-v747 (GitHub-reviewed advisory GHSA-fc9h-whq2-v747 lists affected ranges: npm elliptic >=0 <6.6.0)

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