CVE-2023-42449Public exploitNetwork attack vector

Participant fund lockup via forged head token datum

Published Oct 4, 2023 · Updated Sep 20, 2024

Improper input validation in Input Output Global Hydra before 0.13.0 allows remote authenticated users to lock or misdirect participant funds. HeadTokens.hs and off-chain transaction construction fail to require each initial-validator output datum to carry the real head ID, so ViaAbort accepts a fake policy token and releases a participation token. Head initialization privileges are required; control of that token can prevent abort recovery or inject a false committed UTxO that other participants must fund during fanout.

CVSS severity8.1
High
EPSS probability0.91%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Improper input validation in Input Output Global Hydra before 0.13.0 allows remote authenticated users to lock or misdirect participant funds. HeadTokens.hs and off-chain transaction construction fail to require each initial-validator output datum to carry the real head ID, so ViaAbort accepts a fake policy token and releases a participation token. Head initialization privileges are required; control of that token can prevent abort recovery or inject a false committed UTxO that other participants must fund during fanout.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-42449
Published
Oct 4, 2023
Updated
Sep 20, 2024
Vendor
Input Output Global
Product
Hydra
Classifications
CWE-20, T1565.001
Attack vector
network
Privileges
authenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Oct 4, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Sep 20, 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=< 0.13.0

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesauthenticated

What is affected?

Input Output Global · Hydraversion=< 0.13.0

Published CVSS scores

8.1GitHub, Inc.CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:H/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.

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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 exploitPublished

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-20Improper Input Validation
T1565.001Stored Data Manipulation

Public exploit references

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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