Vulnerability in Zcash Halo2 Gadgets

CVE-2026-54496

ZEBRA is a Zcash node written entirely in Rust. Prior to zebrad 5.0.0, halo2_gadgets 0.5.0, orchard 0.14.0, zcash_primitives 0.28.0, and zcashd 6.20.0, the variable-base scalar multiplication gadget in halo2_gadgets/src/ecc/chip/mul/incomplete.rs used assign_advice() for the base point without a copy constraint tying it to the actual base, allowing a malicious prover to produce a valid proof for an Orchard Action with an under-constrained base point and bypass the diversified-address-integrity check that binds pk_d, g_d, ivk, the nullifier (nf), and the spend validating key (ak) to the note being spent. This issue is fixed in zebrad 5.0.0, halo2_gadgets 0.5.0, orchard 0.14.0, zcash_primitives 0.28.0, and zcashd 6.20.0.

EPSS: 0.003 (23.9th percentile) — read the EPSS interpretation.

CVSS v3 metric

CVSS v3 base score 9.3 (Critical). Vector: CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:L.

Affected products

Weakness classification (CWE)

References

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2026-54496?
CVE-2026-54496 is a critical-severity vulnerability in Zcash Halo2 Gadgets, classified under Insufficient Verification of Data Authenticity. CVSS score: 9.3/10. Published 2026-07-17.
How severe is CVE-2026-54496?
Critical severity. CVSS v3 base score is 9.3 out of 10.