CVE-2026-52738Network attack vector

Persistent halt via credit-before-debit balance update

Published Aug 18, 2026 · Updated Aug 19, 2026

Denial of service in Zcash Foundation Zebra before 4.5.0 allows attackers to halt nodes via a consensus-valid block with transparent self-spends. In zebra-state/src/service/finalized_state/zebra_db/transparent.rs, the finalized-state writer applied address-balance credits before same-block debits, so a same-address self-spend chain could push an intermediate balance above MAX_MONEY and trigger an expect-based panic. Exploitation requires mining the crafted block and committing sufficient ZEC to the chain; because the block remains consensus-valid, affected nodes halt again after restart until patched.

CVSS severity6.9
Medium
EPSS probability0.37%
Next 30 days · Sep 17, 2026
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Based on sourced intelligence
Hinoki checkNot available
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Summary

What happened

Denial of service in Zcash Foundation Zebra before 4.5.0 allows attackers to halt nodes via a consensus-valid block with transparent self-spends. In zebra-state/src/service/finalized_state/zebra_db/transparent.rs, the finalized-state writer applied address-balance credits before same-block debits, so a same-address self-spend chain could push an intermediate balance above MAX_MONEY and trigger an expect-based panic. Exploitation requires mining the crafted block and committing sufficient ZEC to the chain; because the block remains consensus-valid, affected nodes halt again after restart until patched.

The record

CVE
CVE-2026-52738
Published
Aug 18, 2026
Updated
Aug 19, 2026
Vendor
Zcash Foundation
Product
zebra-state
Classifications
CWE-248, T1499
Attack vector
network
Privileges
unauthenticated

Timeline

How it unfolded

  1. Aug 18, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
  2. Aug 19, 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?

Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.

  1. Affected versionversion=< 7.0.0

What conditions does exploitation require?

Attack vectornetwork
Required privilegesunauthenticated

What is affected?

Zcash Foundation · zebra-stateversion=< 7.0.0
Zcash Foundation · Zebraversion=< 4.5.0

Published CVSS scores

6.9GitHub_MCVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:N/VA:L/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

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 11, 2026Sep 17, 2026
Latest reporting daySep 17, 2026
Latest daily unique IPsUnavailable
Prior 30-day averageUnavailable
SourceShadowserver honeypots (KEV)
Vectornetwork
Privilegesunauthenticated
Known exploitationUnconfirmed
Public exploitUnconfirmed

Weakness, pattern, technique

CWE-248Uncaught Exception
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.

Technologies

Your stack

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Your stack

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