CVE-2023-41052: Vyper Incorrect Order Of Evaluation Of Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-4hg4-9mf5-wxxq
Share
CVSS 5.3
CWE-670
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2023-41052 is a MODERATE (CVSS 5.3) incorrect order of evaluation of vulnerability (CWE-670: Always-Incorrect Control Flow Implementation) affecting Vyper libraries in the PyPI ecosystem. The issue involves incorrect order of evaluation of side effects for some builtins. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 0.3.10.

CVE-2023-41052 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2023-41052
GHSA Identifier GHSA-4hg4-9mf5-wxxq
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 5.3
CWE Classification CWE-670: Always-Incorrect Control Flow Implementation
Affected Product Vyper
Package Ecosystem PyPI
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 5.3

The security impact metrics below are parsed directly from the CVSS v3.1 vector string (CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N).

Attack Vector Network (AV:N)
Attack Complexity Low (AC:L)
Privileges Required None (PR:N)
User Interaction None (UI:N)
Scope Unchanged (S:U)
Confidentiality None (C:N)
Integrity Low (I:L)
Availability None (A:N)

How to Fix CVE-2023-41052

To remediate this vulnerability, upgrade all affected Vyper dependencies to a patched release. Both direct and transitive dependencies should be checked, as frameworks or security libraries may pull in vulnerable versions transitively.

vyper fixed: 0.3.10 
pip install vyper>=0.3.10
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

Run the following command in your project directory to verify that all resolved dependencies use the patched release: 

pip show vyper

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your Python environment is affected by CVE-2023-41052, inspect your installed packages using pip:

pip show vyper

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of Vyper in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 0.3.10), your application is affected.

Note: The pip show vyper command checks currently installed packages in your active Python environment.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-670: Always-Incorrect Control Flow Implementation, where the code contains a control flow path that does not reflect the algorithm that the path is intended to implement, leading to incorrect behavior any time this path is navigated. In Vyper, software state validation or input boundaries are circumvented during processing. Review the official source advisory statement below for specific affected components, classes, and reproduction details.

Source Advisory Statement

### Impact The order of evaluation of the arguments of the builtin functions `uint256_addmod`, `uint256_mulmod`, `ecadd` and `ecmul` does not follow source order. • For `uint256_addmod(a,b,c)` and `uint256_mulmod(a,b,c)`, the order is `c,a,b`. • For `ecadd(a,b)` and `ecmul(a,b)`, the order is `b,a`. Note that this behaviour is problematic when the evaluation of one of the arguments produces side effects that other arguments depend on. ### Patches https://github.com/vyperlang/vyper/pull/3583 ### Workarounds When using builtins from the list above, make sure that the arguments of the expression do not produce side effects or, if one does, that no other argument is dependent on those side effects.

CVE-2023-41052 Affected Vyper Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
0.3.10
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
vyper
pypi/vyper
PyPI
< 0.3.10
0.3.10

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/vyperlang/vyper/security/advisories/GHSA-4hg4-9mf5-wxxq
NVD — CVE-2023-41052 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-41052
Vyper Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/vyperlang/vyper/pull/3583
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/vyperlang/vyper/commit/78fa8dd8f91ba0cb26277eeffb585c68c83e7daa
Vyper Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/vyper/PYSEC-2023-168.yaml
Vyper Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/vyperlang/vyper

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2023-41052?
CVE-2023-41052 is a security vulnerability in Vyper involving incorrect order of evaluation of side effects for some builtins under CWE-670: Always-Incorrect Control Flow Implementation.
Which Vyper versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 0.3.10 across affected packages: vyper.
What version fixes CVE-2023-41052?
Upgrading to 0.3.10 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is vyper affected?
Yes, vyper is affected in releases prior to 0.3.10. Upgrade your dependency to 0.3.10 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2023-41052?
CVE-2023-41052 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 5.3 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2023-41052?
CVE-2023-41052 is classified under CWE-670: Always-Incorrect Control Flow Implementation (The code contains a control flow path that does not reflect the algorithm that the path is intended to implement, leading to incorrect behavior any time this path is navigated.).
How can I check PyPI dependencies for CVE-2023-41052?
Run the dependency tree command: 'pip show vyper'. This command lists direct and transitive dependencies in your build configuration so you can verify if a vulnerable version is resolved.
Machine-readable OSV JSON OSV v1.5 Schema
Normalized schema output
View Raw JSON 
{
  "schema_version" : "1.4.0",
  "id" : "GHSA-4hg4-9mf5-wxxq",
  "modified" : "2026-09-17T19:24:13Z",
  "published" : "2023-09-04T16:39:49Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2023-41052" ],
  "summary" : "incorrect order of evaluation of side effects for some builtins",
  "details" : "### Impact\nThe order of evaluation of the arguments of the builtin functions `uint256_addmod`, `uint256_mulmod`, `ecadd` and `ecmul` does not follow source order.\n• For `uint256_addmod(a,b,c)` and `uint256_mulmod(a,b,c)`, the order is `c,a,b`.\n• For `ecadd(a,b)` and `ecmul(a,b)`, the order is `b,a`.\n\nNote that this behaviour is problematic when the evaluation of one of the arguments produces side effects that other arguments depend on. \n\n### Patches\nhttps://github.com/vyperlang/vyper/pull/3583\n\n### Workarounds\nWhen using builtins from the list above, make sure that the arguments of the expression do not produce side effects or, if one does, that no other argument is dependent on those side effects.",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:L/A:N"
  }, {
    "type" : "CVSS_V4",
    "score" : "CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "PyPI",
      "name" : "vyper"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "0.3.10"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/vyperlang/vyper/security/advisories/GHSA-4hg4-9mf5-wxxq"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2023-41052"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/vyperlang/vyper/pull/3583"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/vyperlang/vyper/commit/78fa8dd8f91ba0cb26277eeffb585c68c83e7daa"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/vyper/PYSEC-2023-168.yaml"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/vyperlang/vyper"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-670" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2023-09-04T16:39:49Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2023-09-04T18:15:08Z"
  }
}