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Bitcoin CVE-2017-9230

HIGH
Use of Cryptographically Weak Pseudo-Random Number Generator (PRNG) (CWE-338)
2017-05-24 cve@mitre.org
7.5
CVSS 3.1 · NVD
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Vulnerability Assessment

Weakness
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A04:2025 - Cryptographic Failures
ASVS 5.0
V11 - Cryptography Cryptographic PRNG selection
Impact

CVSS score of 7.5 (HIGH). Attack characteristics: network attack vector, low complexity, no privileges required, no user interaction not required. EPSS exploitation probability: 0.81%.

Exploit ScenarioDerived

This vulnerability can be exploited remotely over the network. Successful exploitation could compromise the high-severity affected system.

This Week Schedule remediation this week. Why: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9).
No patch listed yet 0.8% exploitation probability (EPSS)

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AnalysisAI

The Bitcoin Proof-of-Work algorithm does not consider a certain attack methodology related to 80-byte block headers with a variety of initial 64-byte chunks followed by the same 16-byte chunk,. Rated high severity (CVSS 7.5), this vulnerability is remotely exploitable, no authentication required, low attack complexity. No vendor patch available.

RemediationAI

No vendor patch is available at time of analysis. Monitor vendor advisories for updates. Apply vendor patches when available. Implement network segmentation and monitoring as interim mitigations.

Affects your stack

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Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.

Technical ContextAI · show details

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-338. The Bitcoin Proof-of-Work algorithm does not consider a certain attack methodology related to 80-byte block headers with a variety of initial 64-byte chunks followed by the same 16-byte chunk, multiple candidate root values ending with the same 4 bytes, and calculations involving sqrt numbers. This violates the security assumptions of (1) the choice of input, outside of the dedicated nonce area, fed into the Proof-of-Work function should not change its difficulty to evaluate and (2) every Proof-of-Work function execution should be independent. NOTE: a number of persons feel that this methodology is a benign mining optimization, not a vulnerability Affected products include: Bitcoin.

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  • Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources

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Severity by source

NVD PRIMARY 7.5 HIGH
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:N

Primary rating from NVD · only source for this CVE.

CVSS VectorNVD

Attack Vector
Network
Attack Complexity
Low
Privileges Required
None
User Interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
None

DescriptionCVE.org

The Bitcoin Proof-of-Work algorithm does not consider a certain attack methodology related to 80-byte block headers with a variety of initial 64-byte chunks followed by the same 16-byte chunk, multiple candidate root values ending with the same 4 bytes, and calculations involving sqrt numbers. This violates the security assumptions of (1) the choice of input, outside of the dedicated nonce area, fed into the Proof-of-Work function should not change its difficulty to evaluate and (2) every Proof-of-Work function execution should be independent. NOTE: a number of persons feel that this methodology is a benign mining optimization, not a vulnerability

Threat Intelligence Overview

EPSS Score
0.8%
Top 26% exploitable
Data Quality
3 sources
Confidence: Low

How this decision was reached

The engine reads each signal below and applies a fixed list of rules from top to bottom. The first rule that matches sets the recommended action – like a statement, every line is shown.

SignalValue
Severity HIGH
CISA KEV No
Public POC No
EPSS 0.8%
Patch available No
Active threat No
Deciding rule
HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9)
What every action level means
Emergency Immediate action required. Criteria: CRITICAL + in CISA KEV (actively exploited) without patch, OR CRITICAL + EPSS > 30% without patch, OR CRITICAL + active threat signals without patch.
Act Now Prioritize within 24-48h. Criteria: in KEV with patch available, OR CRITICAL + public POC, OR HIGH + EPSS > 10%, OR CRITICAL + active threat, OR any CRITICAL severity.
This Week Schedule remediation this week. Criteria: HIGH severity (CVSS 7.0-8.9). Patch within normal change window.
This Month Plan within 30 days. Criteria: MEDIUM severity (CVSS 4.0-6.9), lower exploitation probability. Include in regular patch cycle.
Monitor Track and reassess. Criteria: LOW severity (CVSS 0.1-3.9), minimal exploitation risk. No immediate action needed.

SSVC AssessmentENISA

SSVC Decision· derived
Scheduled
Exploitation· derived
None
System Exposure· derived
Open
Automatable· derived
Yes
Human Impact· derived
Medium

Priority Score

39
Low Medium High Critical
KEV: 0
EPSS: +1
CVSS: +38
PoC: 0
Weaponized: 0
Threat intel: 0
Gov advisory: 0

Attack Technique

Information disclosure occurs when an application unintentionally exposes sensitive data that aids attackers in reconnaissance or directly compromises security.

Affected Products (CPE)CVE.org

cpe:2.3:a:bitcoin:bitcoin:-:*:*:*:*:*:*:*
CVE-2012-1910 HIGH POC
7.5 Aug 06

Bitcoin-Qt 0.5.0.x before 0.5.0.5; 0.5.1.x, 0.5.2.x, and 0.5.3.x before 0.5.3.1; and 0.6.x before 0.6.0rc4 on Windows do

CVE-2023-37192 HIGH POC
7.5 Jul 07

Memory management and protection issues in Bitcoin Core v22 allows attackers to modify the stored sending address within

CVE-2021-3195 HIGH POC
7.5 Jan 26

bitcoind in Bitcoin Core through 0.21.0 can create a new file in an arbitrary directory (e.g., outside the ~/.bitcoin di

CVE-2021-3401 CRITICAL
9.8 Feb 04

Bitcoin Core before 0.19.0 might allow remote attackers to execute arbitrary code when another application unsafely pass

CVE-2012-2459 MEDIUM POC
5.0 Aug 06

Unspecified vulnerability in bitcoind and Bitcoin-Qt before 0.4.6, 0.5.x before 0.5.5, 0.6.0.x before 0.6.0.7, and 0.6.x

CVE-2012-1909 MEDIUM POC
5.0 Aug 06

The Bitcoin protocol, as used in bitcoind before 0.4.4, wxBitcoin, Bitcoin-Qt, and other programs, does not properly han

CVE-2013-2292 HIGH
7.8 Mar 12

bitcoind and Bitcoin-Qt 0.8.0 and earlier allow remote attackers to cause a denial of service (electricity consumption)

CVE-2012-4684 HIGH
7.8 Mar 12

The alert functionality in bitcoind and Bitcoin-Qt before 0.7.0 supports different character representations of the same

CVE-2013-3220 MEDIUM
6.4 Aug 02

bitcoind and Bitcoin-Qt before 0.4.9rc2, 0.5.x before 0.5.8rc2, 0.6.x before 0.6.5rc2, and 0.7.x before 0.7.3rc2, and wx

CVE-2024-52920 HIGH
7.5 Nov 18

Bitcoin Core before 0.20.0 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (infinite loop) via a malformed GETDATA

CVE-2024-52916 HIGH
7.5 Nov 18

Bitcoin Core before 0.15.0 allows a denial of service (OOM kill of a daemon process) via a flood of minimum difficulty h

CVE-2024-52915 HIGH
7.5 Nov 18

Bitcoin Core before 0.20.0 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (memory consumption) via a crafted INV m

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