CVE-2023-50428Known exploitationNetwork attack vector

Denial of service via obfuscated datacarrier data

Published Dec 9, 2023 · Updated Aug 2, 2024

Denial of service in Bitcoin Core through 26.0 and Bitcoin Knots before 25.1.knots20231115 allows remote attackers to degrade node service. The mempool policy counts data only in NULL_DATA outputs, so scripts such as OP_FALSE OP_IF disguise payload bytes as executable code and evade the configured size check. Exploitation requires crafted transactions to reach a node and can increase traffic, fees, processing delay, and operating costs; Bitcoin Core maintainers dispute that the behavior is a bug.

CVSS severity5.3
Medium
EPSS probability0.78%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationReported
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Denial of service in Bitcoin Core through 26.0 and Bitcoin Knots before 25.1.knots20231115 allows remote attackers to degrade node service. The mempool policy counts data only in NULL_DATA outputs, so scripts such as OP_FALSE OP_IF disguise payload bytes as executable code and evade the configured size check. Exploitation requires crafted transactions to reach a node and can increase traffic, fees, processing delay, and operating costs; Bitcoin Core maintainers dispute that the behavior is a bug.

The record

CVE
CVE-2023-50428
Published
Dec 9, 2023
Updated
Aug 2, 2024
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
T1499
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Jan 1, 2022Exploitation reportedBitcoin Inscriptions datacarrier-limit bypass
  2. Dec 9, 2023CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  3. Aug 2, 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?

Affected buildAffected product and version details are unavailable.

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Affected products and versions are unavailable in this record.

Published CVSS scores

5.3NVDCVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L

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
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationReported
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

T1499Endpoint Denial of Service

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.

Reported exploitation

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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