CVE-2021-32738Network attack vector

Forged SEP-10 challenge acceptance via omitted signature check

Published Jul 2, 2021 · Updated Aug 3, 2024

Improper signature verification in Stellar JS SDK before 8.2.3 allows remote authenticated users to have forged SEP-10 challenges accepted. Utils.readChallengeTx returns a parsed challenge without verifying that serverAccountID signed it; the patch adds verifyTxSignedBy before return. Exposure requires an application to rely on readChallengeTx without either supplemental verifier, allowing an unsigned challenge to be treated as server-issued.

CVSS severity6.5
Medium
EPSS probability0.51%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Improper signature verification in Stellar JS SDK before 8.2.3 allows remote authenticated users to have forged SEP-10 challenges accepted. Utils.readChallengeTx returns a parsed challenge without verifying that serverAccountID signed it; the patch adds verifyTxSignedBy before return. Exposure requires an application to rely on readChallengeTx without either supplemental verifier, allowing an unsigned challenge to be treated as server-issued.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-32738
Published
Jul 2, 2021
Updated
Aug 3, 2024
Vendor
Stellar Development Foundation
Product
Stellar JS SDK
Classifications
CWE-347, CWE-287
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jul 2, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 3, 2024Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.

Exploitability

Present is not the same as exploitable

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Is a vulnerable build present?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=< 8.2.3

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Stellar Development Foundation · Stellar JS SDKversion=< 8.2.3

Published CVSS scores

6.5GitHub, Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/A:N
4.0NISTAV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:N/I:P/A:N

CVSS describes severity. EPSS estimates exploitation probability.

Attacks

What attackers are doing with it

Daily unique IPs observed by Shadowserver honeypots for known exploited vulnerabilities (KEVs). Missing observations do not establish an absence of attacks.

Daily unique IPsNo honeypot observations are available for this CVE in the selected window.

No observations available

Sep 10, 2026Sep 16, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 16, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-347Improper Verification of Cryptographic Signature
CWE-287Improper Authentication

Public exploit references

No public exploit references are available in this record.

Labels summarize the accepted research assessment. They do not indicate a test against your environment.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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