Proof forgery via mismatched structure projections
Published Aug 20, 2026 · Updated Aug 20, 2026
Type confusion in Lean FRO Lean 4 before 4.32.2 and in 4.33.0-rc1 allows attackers to forge proofs via in-process metaprograms. The kernel accepts projection expressions whose named structure does not match the projected value's type, and environment::add_inductive in src/kernel/inductive.cpp fails to type-check nested inductive applications replaced by auxiliary types, letting parametric arguments escape checking. Reachability requires running a metaprogram in the Lean process, such as during a build or through a malicious Lake dependency, after which ordinary checked addDecl can register ill-typed declarations and derive False without axioms.
Summary
What happened
Type confusion in Lean FRO Lean 4 before 4.32.2 and in 4.33.0-rc1 allows attackers to forge proofs via in-process metaprograms. The kernel accepts projection expressions whose named structure does not match the projected value's type, and environment::add_inductive in src/kernel/inductive.cpp fails to type-check nested inductive applications replaced by auxiliary types, letting parametric arguments escape checking. Reachability requires running a metaprogram in the Lean process, such as during a build or through a malicious Lake dependency, after which ordinary checked addDecl can register ill-typed declarations and derive False without axioms.
The record
- CVE
- CVE-2026-72844
- Published
- Aug 20, 2026
- Updated
- Aug 20, 2026
- Vendor
- Lean FRO
- Product
- Lean 4
- Classifications
- CWE-843
- Attack vector
- local
- Privileges
- unauthenticated
Timeline
How it unfolded
- Aug 20, 2026CVE publishedPublication date reported by the CVE source.
- Aug 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?
Compare these published version ranges with your installed build and any vendor patches.
- Affected versionversion=0 <4.32.2
- Affected versionversion=4.33.0-rc1
What conditions does exploitation require?
What is affected?
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.
Weakness, pattern, technique
Public exploit references
- lean-cve-pocproof of concept · demonstrated
- CollatzLeanproof of concept · demonstrated
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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