NULL pointer dereference in Klever-Io Klever-Go
CVE-2026-52878
Klever-Go is the Go implementation of the Klever blockchain protocol. Versions 1.7.14 through 1.7.17 are vulnerable to a nil-pointer panic triggered by a protobuf Transaction whose embedded RawData sub-message is omitted. This omission causes RawData to decode to nil. Every transaction gossiped on the Klever-Go P2P network is decoded and validated synchronously inside the libp2p pubsub topic-validator callback, where txVersionChecker.CheckTxVersion dereferences tx.RawData.Version with no nil check. Because the libp2p pubsub callback, the underlying go-libp2p-pubsub validation worker, and Klever's own network/p2p layer install no recover(), the panic propagates and crashes the entire node process. The attacker payload is a 3-byte protobuf message; no validator key, stake, funds, or on-chain account is required, and delivery aimed at enough of the BLS validator set can halt block production, resulting in a chain halt. This issue has been fixed in version 1.7.18.
EPSS: 0.003 (27.1th percentile) — read the EPSS interpretation.
CVSS v3 metric
CVSS v3 base score 7.5 (High). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H.
Affected products
- Klever-io Klever-go — versions >= 1.7.14, < 1.7.18
Weakness classification (CWE)
References
- security-advisories@github.com (x_refsource_CONFIRM)
- security-advisories@github.com (x_refsource_MISC)
Frequently asked questions
- What is CVE-2026-52878?
- CVE-2026-52878 is a high-severity vulnerability in Klever-Io Klever-Go, classified under NULL Pointer Dereference. CVSS score: 7.5/10. Published 2026-08-07.
- How severe is CVE-2026-52878?
- High severity. CVSS v3 base score is 7.5 out of 10.