CVE-2021-41272Network attack vector

Network disruption via signed shift-amount coercion

Published Dec 13, 2021 · Updated Aug 4, 2024

Integer coercion in Hyperledger Besu 21.10.0 through 21.10.1 allows remote attackers to interrupt block validation via crafted shifts. The EVM SHL, SHR, and SAR handlers convert a 256-bit shift amount to a signed 32-bit integer but fail to reject negative results before passing them to shift methods. No authentication or user interaction is required; a shift of roughly 2 billion to 4 billion bits can stop validators, exclude transactions, or split mixed-client networks.

CVSS severity7.5
High
EPSS probability1.42%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Integer coercion in Hyperledger Besu 21.10.0 through 21.10.1 allows remote attackers to interrupt block validation via crafted shifts. The EVM SHL, SHR, and SAR handlers convert a 256-bit shift amount to a signed 32-bit integer but fail to reject negative results before passing them to shift methods. No authentication or user interaction is required; a shift of roughly 2 billion to 4 billion bits can stop validators, exclude transactions, or split mixed-client networks.

The record

CVE
CVE-2021-41272
Published
Dec 13, 2021
Updated
Aug 4, 2024
Vendor
Hyperledger Foundation
Product
Hyperledger Besu
Classifications
CWE-681, T1499.004
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Dec 13, 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=> 21.7.4, < 21.10.2

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Hyperledger Foundation · Hyperledger Besuversion=> 21.7.4, < 21.10.2

Published CVSS scores

5.0NIST NVDAV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P
7.5GitHub, Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

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
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-681Incorrect Conversion between Numeric Types
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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