Node crash via duplicate shielded transaction
Published Aug 18, 2026 · Updated Aug 19, 2026
Denial of service in Zcash Foundation Zebra before 4.5.0 allows remote attackers to crash the node via duplicate shielded transactions in parent and child blocks. In zebra-state/src/service/non_finalized_state/chain.rs, Chain::push inserts the transaction hash into tx_loc_by_hash and asserts uniqueness before it updates shielded state and runs the duplicate Sprout, Sapling, or Orchard nullifier checks. Exploitation requires non-finalized NU5-or-later block processing and either two attacker-mined consecutive blocks or one attacker-mined child after an honest parent includes the attacker's shielded transaction; release builds abort the entire zebrad process instead of cleanly rejecting the child block.
Summary
What happened
Denial of service in Zcash Foundation Zebra before 4.5.0 allows remote attackers to crash the node via duplicate shielded transactions in parent and child blocks. In zebra-state/src/service/non_finalized_state/chain.rs, Chain::push inserts the transaction hash into tx_loc_by_hash and asserts uniqueness before it updates shielded state and runs the duplicate Sprout, Sapling, or Orchard nullifier checks. Exploitation requires non-finalized NU5-or-later block processing and either two attacker-mined consecutive blocks or one attacker-mined child after an honest parent includes the attacker's shielded transaction; release builds abort the entire zebrad process instead of cleanly rejecting the child block.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-52739
- 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
- Aug 18, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 19, 2026Record updatedLatest update available in the CVE record.
Exploitability
Present is not the same as exploitable
Compare your product and version with the public record. A matching version still requires validation against your environment.
Is a vulnerable build present?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=< 7.0.0
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
Published CVSS scores
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.
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
See the directory against your own environment.
Your stack
Check the software in your environment
Book a demo to see how Hinoki identifies affected software and validates exploitability in your environment.
Book a demo