CVE-2026-46542: nimiq-keys Denial of Service Vulnerability

MODERATE
Advisory Identifier: GHSA-h9cc-w26m-j342
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CVSS 4.3
CWE-617
Published
Advisory Summary

CVE-2026-46542 is a MODERATE (CVSS 4.3) denial of service vulnerability (CWE-617: Reachable Assertion) affecting nimiq-keys libraries in the crates.io ecosystem. The issue involves denial of service in ed25519 multisig delinearization via invalid curve points. Remediation is available by upgrading affected packages to version 1.4.0.

CVE-2026-46542 at a Glance

CVE Identifier CVE-2026-46542
GHSA Identifier GHSA-h9cc-w26m-j342
Severity MODERATE
CVSS v3.1 Base Score 4.3
CWE Classification CWE-617: Reachable Assertion
Affected Product nimiq-keys
Package Ecosystem crates.io
Published Date
Last Updated

Security Impact

CVSS: 4.3

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:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L).

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

How to Fix CVE-2026-46542

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

nimiq-keys fixed: 1.4.0 
Upgrade nimiq-keys to 1.4.0
Verify Direct and Transitive Dependencies

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

inspect dependencies for nimiq-keys

How to Check if You Are Affected

To determine whether your application is affected by CVE-2026-46542, inspect your project dependencies for nimiq-keys:

inspect dependencies for nimiq-keys

Analyze the terminal output to locate any version of nimiq-keys in your dependency tree. If any resolved version matches the vulnerable ranges listed in the table below (for example, versions earlier than 1.4.0), your application is affected.

Note: Verify declared build manifests and deployed runtime container environments.

Technical Details

Vulnerability Mechanism & Technical Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-617: Reachable Assertion, where the product contains an assert() or similar statement that can be triggered by an attacker, which leads to an application exit or other behavior that is more severe than necessary. In nimiq-keys, 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 A denial-of-service vulnerability exists in the Ed25519 multisig delinearization code path. `Ed25519PublicKey::delinearize()` in `keys/src/multisig/mod.rs` called `.unwrap()` on curve point decompression, which panics when a public key is constructed from 32 bytes that do not represent a valid point on the Ed25519 curve. `Ed25519PublicKey` construction only validates byte length, not curve membership, so invalid keys can reach the delinearization path and crash the hosting process. A secondary panic existed in `Commitment::From<[u8; 32]>`, which similarly called `.unwrap()` on a failing curve point decompression. **Who is affected:** Browser and desktop wallet users of the web-client WASM library and the `nimiq-wallet` crate, when initiating a multisig operation with an attacker-supplied public key. An attacker must convince the user to include a crafted public key in a multisig setup — this is not a remotely triggerable node/validator crash. **Who is NOT affected:** Validator nodes, consensus, blockchain, mempool, and networking code. There is no on-chain multisig account type; multisig is a purely client-side construct, and no validator/consensus code calls the multisig delinearization path. ### Patches See [PR](https://github.com/nimiq/core-rs-albatross/pull/3713). ### Workarounds No code-level workaround exists short of the patch. Users of wallet applications can mitigate exposure by only performing multisig operations with public keys received from trusted sources. ### Resources - Affected code: `keys/src/multisig/mod.rs`, `keys/src/multisig/commitment.rs`

CVE-2026-46542 Affected nimiq-keys Versions

1 component(s)
Fixed Versions:
1.4.0
Product / Package Ecosystem Affected Versions Fixed Version
nimiq-keys
 crates.io
< 1.4.0
1.4.0

References

GitHub Advisory / Wiki ADVISORY
https://github.com/nimiq/core-rs-albatross/security/advisories/GHSA-h9cc-w26m-j342
NVD — CVE-2026-46542 NVD
https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-46542
nimiq-keys Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/nimiq/core-rs-albatross/pull/3713
Security Fix Commit FIX COMMIT
https://github.com/nimiq/core-rs-albatross/commit/3bc449a8138960c4de6bfd506bad1730c621d4de
nimiq-keys Source Repository REPOSITORY
https://github.com/nimiq/core-rs-albatross
nimiq-keys Release RELEASE
https://github.com/nimiq/core-rs-albatross/releases/tag/v1.4.0

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2026-46542?
CVE-2026-46542 is a security vulnerability in nimiq-keys involving Denial of service in Ed25519 multisig delinearization via invalid curve points under CWE-617: Reachable Assertion.
Which nimiq-keys versions are affected?
Affected versions include releases prior to 1.4.0 across affected packages: nimiq-keys.
What version fixes CVE-2026-46542?
Upgrading to 1.4.0 (or the latest patched release for your respective branch) resolves the vulnerability.
Is nimiq-keys affected?
Yes, nimiq-keys is affected in releases prior to 1.4.0. Upgrade your dependency to 1.4.0 or later.
What is the CVSS score of CVE-2026-46542?
CVE-2026-46542 has a CVSS v3.1 base score of 4.3 (MODERATE) with vector string CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L.
What CWE is associated with CVE-2026-46542?
CVE-2026-46542 is classified under CWE-617: Reachable Assertion (The product contains an assert() or similar statement that can be triggered by an attacker, which leads to an application exit or other behavior that is more severe than necessary.).
How can I check crates.io dependencies for CVE-2026-46542?
Run the dependency tree command: 'inspect dependencies for nimiq-keys'. 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-h9cc-w26m-j342",
  "modified" : "2026-06-10T13:41:32Z",
  "published" : "2026-05-21T19:45:08Z",
  "aliases" : [ "CVE-2026-46542" ],
  "summary" : "nimiq-keys: Denial of service in Ed25519 multisig delinearization via invalid curve points",
  "details" : "### Impact\n\nA denial-of-service vulnerability exists in the Ed25519 multisig delinearization code path. `Ed25519PublicKey::delinearize()` in `keys/src/multisig/mod.rs` called `.unwrap()` on curve point decompression, which panics when a public key is\nconstructed from 32 bytes that do not represent a valid point on the Ed25519 curve. `Ed25519PublicKey` construction only validates byte length, not curve membership, so invalid keys can reach the delinearization path and crash the\nhosting process.\n\nA secondary panic existed in `Commitment::From<[u8; 32]>`, which similarly called `.unwrap()` on a failing curve point decompression.\n\n**Who is affected:** Browser and desktop wallet users of the web-client WASM library and the `nimiq-wallet` crate, when initiating a multisig operation with an attacker-supplied public key. An attacker must convince the user to include\na crafted public key in a multisig setup — this is not a remotely triggerable node/validator crash.\n\n**Who is NOT affected:** Validator nodes, consensus, blockchain, mempool, and networking code. There is no on-chain multisig account type; multisig is a purely client-side construct, and no validator/consensus code calls the multisig  delinearization path.\n\n### Patches\n\nSee [PR](https://github.com/nimiq/core-rs-albatross/pull/3713).\n\n### Workarounds\n\nNo code-level workaround exists short of the patch. Users of wallet applications can mitigate exposure by only performing multisig operations with public keys received from trusted sources.\n\n### Resources\n- Affected code: `keys/src/multisig/mod.rs`, `keys/src/multisig/commitment.rs`",
  "severity" : [ {
    "type" : "CVSS_V3",
    "score" : "CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L"
  } ],
  "affected" : [ {
    "package" : {
      "ecosystem" : "crates.io",
      "name" : "nimiq-keys"
    },
    "ranges" : [ {
      "type" : "ECOSYSTEM",
      "events" : [ {
        "introduced" : "0"
      }, {
        "fixed" : "1.4.0"
      } ]
    } ]
  } ],
  "references" : [ {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/nimiq/core-rs-albatross/security/advisories/GHSA-h9cc-w26m-j342"
  }, {
    "type" : "ADVISORY",
    "url" : "https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-46542"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/nimiq/core-rs-albatross/pull/3713"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/nimiq/core-rs-albatross/commit/3bc449a8138960c4de6bfd506bad1730c621d4de"
  }, {
    "type" : "PACKAGE",
    "url" : "https://github.com/nimiq/core-rs-albatross"
  }, {
    "type" : "WEB",
    "url" : "https://github.com/nimiq/core-rs-albatross/releases/tag/v1.4.0"
  } ],
  "database_specific" : {
    "cwe_ids" : [ "CWE-617" ],
    "severity" : "MODERATE",
    "github_reviewed" : true,
    "github_reviewed_at" : "2026-05-21T19:45:08Z",
    "nvd_published_at" : "2026-06-10T00:16:54Z"
  }
}