Ethereum
CVE-2026-22868
HIGH
GHSA-mq3p-rrmp-79jg
Attack ChainAIDerived
Hypothetical attack flow derived from CVE metadata – not a confirmed exploit chain
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AccessConnect to vulnerable geth node
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ExploitSend specially crafted message
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ExecutionTrigger parsing error
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ImpactNode crashes or shuts down
Vulnerability Assessment
| Weakness |
CWE
OWASP Top 10:2025
A05:2025 - Injection
ASVS 5.0
V2 - Validation and Business Logic Input validation, allowlisting
|
| Exploitation Conditions | No special conditions — remote unauthenticated exploitation against unpatched go-ethereum (geth) versions before 1.16.8 accepting network messages from any peer. |
| Impact | CVSS 7.5 (HIGH). Attack vector: Network. Complexity: Low. Privileges required: None. User interaction: None. |
| Exploit ScenarioDerived | An attacker could exploit this vulnerability to compromise the affected system. |
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Alert meAnalysisAIv1 – Mar 12, 2026
Go Ethereum (geth) nodes can be remotely crashed through maliciously crafted network messages, causing denial of service to affected network participants. An unauthenticated attacker on the network can exploit this vulnerability without user interaction to force vulnerable nodes offline. A patch is available in version 1.16.8 and later.
Earlier versions of this analysis (1)
go-ethereum (geth) is a golang execution layer implementation of the Ethereum protocol. A vulnerable node can be forced to shutdown/crash using a specially crafted message. [CVSS 7.5 HIGH]
RemediationAI
A vendor patch is available — apply it immediately. Fixed in version 1.16.8.. Restrict network access to the affected service where possible.
Affected Packages
Source: OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affects your stack
Affects 1 package in go
Checking this CVE against your own stacks and servers is part of the Basic plan and up.
Technical ContextAI · show details
Classified as CWE-20 (Improper Input Validation). Affects Go Ethereum. go-ethereum (geth) is a golang execution layer implementation of the Ethereum protocol. A vulnerable node can be forced to shutdown/crash using a specially crafted message. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.16.8.
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- Exploit and PoC references, threat intelligence from 22 sources
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Severity by source
AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
Primary rating from GitHub Advisory.
CVSS VectorGitHub Advisory
Lifecycle Timeline
2DescriptionGitHub Advisory
go-ethereum (geth) is a golang execution layer implementation of the Ethereum protocol. A vulnerable node can be forced to shutdown/crash using a specially crafted message. This vulnerability is fixed in 1.16.8.
Executive ViewAI
CVE-2026-22868 presents notable security risk, a input validation vulnerability rated CVSS 7.5. Exploitation could compromise the security of affected deployments. A patch is available and should be applied as part of regular vulnerability management.
Apply vendor patch. If immediate patching is not feasible: (1) Implement network-level access controls to limit exposure; (2) Enable enhanced monitoring and alerting; (3) Apply principle of least privilege.
Threat Intelligence Overview
NVD
CVE.org
EPSS
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.
What every action level means
SSVC AssessmentENISA
Priority Score
Attack Technique
Denial of Service attacks render applications or systems unavailable by overwhelming resources or triggering failure conditions.
Affected Products (CPE)GitHub Advisory
Py-EVM v0.2.0-alpha.33 allows attackers to make a vm.execute_bytecode call that triggers computation._stack.values with
A design flaw in all versions of Go-Ethereum allows an attacker node to send 5120 pending transactions of a high gas pri
A design flaw in Go-Ethereum 1.10.12 and older versions allows an attacker node to send 5120 future transactions with a
Geth (aka go-ethereum) through 1.13.4, when --http --graphql is used, allows remote attackers to cause a denial of servi
An exponential ReDoS (Regular Expression Denial of Service) can be triggered in the eth-account PyPI package, when an at
Go Ethereum (aka geth) 1.8.19 allows attackers to cause a denial of service (memory consumption) by rewriting the length
cmd/evm/runner.go in Go Ethereum (aka geth) 1.8.17 allows attackers to cause a denial of service (SEGV) via crafted byte
The GetBlockHeadersMsg handler in the LES protocol implementation in Go Ethereum (aka geth) before 1.8.11 may lead to an
Go Ethereum (aka geth) through 1.10.21 allows attackers to increase rewards by mining blocks in certain situations, and
Circuit soundness failure in Payy (polybase/payy) prior to 1.3.0 lets an authorized rollup prover smuggle an extra burn
Geth versions prior to 1.16.9 can be remotely crashed by sending a specially crafted message over the network, allowing
Go Ethereum nodes can be remotely crashed by unauthenticated attackers sending specially crafted network messages, resul
Exploit-DB