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VulnerabilityPublished

CVE-2024-52918: Bitcoin Core · Unthrottled Resource Allocation

Source CVE Database V5

0

Not known to be exploited · CVSS 6.5 Medium · fixed in 0.20.0 : update Bitcoin Core when convenient.

Data as of 26 Oct 2026, 11:42 UTC

CVSS 3.1 base score
6.5Medium
How severe the flaw is on the 0–10 CVSS scale.
EPSS
0.4% chance of exploitation in 30 days – higher than 41% of CVEsExploit Prediction Scoring System: the likelihood attackers will use this flaw soon.
Affects
Bitcoin Core before 0.20.0
Patch
Available – fixed in 0.20.0
CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

Exploitation evidence

  1. Disclosed: evidence found.

    CVE published 18 Nov 2024

  2. Detectable: no evidence on record.

    No public nuclei template indexed

  3. Weaponised: no evidence on record.

    No public exploit code indexed in Metasploit or Exploit-DB

  4. Exploited in the wild: no evidence on record.

    Not in CISA KEV and no source reports exploitation

  5. Observed by OffSeq Mirage: no evidence on record.

    No attack traffic recorded by OffSeq Mirage sensors

A missing step is not evidence of safety. Sources: cve.org (opens in a new tab), the Metasploit, Exploit-DB and nuclei-templates index as of 26 Oct 2026.

What to do

AI-suggested

To mitigate CVE-2024-52918, organizations and users should upgrade Bitcoin Core to version 0.20.0 or later, where this vulnerability is addressed. Until patches are available or upgrades are applied, users should avoid processing BIP21 payment URLs containing the 'r' parameter from untrusted or unknown sources, especially those that may reference large files. Implementing network-level controls to block or monitor suspicious URLs or large file downloads associated with Bitcoin payment requests can reduce exposure. Wallet software developers should consider adding resource consumption limits and validation on the size of files referenced by the 'r' parameter to prevent excessive memory usage. Additionally, educating users about the risks of opening payment requests from unverified sources can reduce the likelihood of triggering the vulnerability. Monitoring Bitcoin Core client logs for crashes or unusual memory usage patterns may help detect attempted exploitation attempts.

Description

Bitcoin-Qt in Bitcoin Core before 0.20.0 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (memory consumption and application crash) via a BIP21 r parameter for a URL that has a large file.

References

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