CVE-2021-41135Network attack vector

Consensus halt via local-clock grant validation

Published Oct 20, 2021 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Consensus inconsistency in Cosmos SDK 0.43.0 through 0.44.1 allows remote authenticated users to halt affected chains. Grant.ValidateBasic in x/authz compares each MsgGrant's user-defined expiration time with the validating node's local clock, so nodes can disagree near expiration. The chain must enable x/authz and accept crafted transactions; divergent validation can halt consensus, while funds and balances remain safe.

CVSS severity6.5
Medium
EPSS probability1.71%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Consensus inconsistency in Cosmos SDK 0.43.0 through 0.44.1 allows remote authenticated users to halt affected chains. Grant.ValidateBasic in x/authz compares each MsgGrant's user-defined expiration time with the validating node's local clock, so nodes can disagree near expiration. The chain must enable x/authz and accept crafted transactions; divergent validation can halt consensus, while funds and balances remain safe.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-41135
Published
Oct 20, 2021
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
Cosmos Labs
Product
Cosmos SDK
Classifications
CWE-754, T1499.004
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Oct 20, 2021CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 4, 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=>= 0.43.0, < 0.44.2

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Cosmos Labs · Cosmos SDKversion=>= 0.43.0, < 0.44.2

Published CVSS scores

6.5GitHub CNACVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H
4.0NIST NVDAV:N/AC:L/Au:S/C:N/I:N/A:P

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-754Improper Check for Unusual or Exceptional Conditions
T1499.004Application or System Exploitation

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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