CVE-2025-46598Network attack vector

Block propagation delay via repeated transaction validation

Published Mar 20, 2026 · Updated Mar 20, 2026

Resource exhaustion in Bitcoin Core 29.0 and earlier allows remote attackers to delay block propagation via crafted unconfirmed transactions. Transaction admission validates non-standard legacy Script and Tapscript inputs with worst-case signature hashing before rejecting them, while the peer remains connected. Any network peer can repeat the requests without authentication; each consumes seconds of CPU, delaying propagation rather than crashing the node.

CVSS severity5.3
Medium
EPSS probability0.33%
Next 30 days · Sep 16, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Resource exhaustion in Bitcoin Core 29.0 and earlier allows remote attackers to delay block propagation via crafted unconfirmed transactions. Transaction admission validates non-standard legacy Script and Tapscript inputs with worst-case signature hashing before rejecting them, while the peer remains connected. Any network peer can repeat the requests without authentication; each consumes seconds of CPU, delaying propagation rather than crashing the node.

The record

CVE
CVE-2025-46598
Published
Mar 20, 2026
Updated
Mar 20, 2026
Vendor
Unknown vendor
Product
Unknown product
Classifications
CWE-405, T1499.002
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Mar 20, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Mar 20, 2026Record 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

5.3CISA-ADPCVSS: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 exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-405Asymmetric Resource Consumption (Amplification)
T1499.002Service Exhaustion

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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