CVE-2023-42449 — Hydra is the two-layer scalability solution for Cardano

Hydra is the two-layer scalability solution for Cardano. Prior to version 0.13.0, it is possible for a malicious head initializer to extract one or more PTs for the head they are initializing due to incorrect data validation logic in the head token minting policy which then resul

01What is this vulnerability?

Hydra is the two-layer scalability solution for Cardano. Prior to version 0.13.0, it is possible for a malicious head initializer to extract one or more PTs for the head they are initializing due to incorrect data validation logic in the head token minting policy which then results in an flawed check for burning the head ST in the `initial` validator. This is possible because it is not checked in…

02Affected products

Vendor	Product	Versions
input-output-hk	hydra	< 0.13.0

03Active exploitation status

Not currently listed on the CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog. EPSS is the best forward-looking signal — see the EPSS row above.

04Recommended remediation

• Patch to a fixed version listed in the vendor advisory (see references below).
• Mitigate with WAF rules, network egress filters, or feature flags where the patch is not yet available.
• Hunt historical logs for exploitation indicators — see Detection signatures below.

05Technical details

For the full vendor write-up, exploit chains, and reference implementations, see the references list in section 09.

06Detection signatures

Open the Sigma generator with a pre-filled prompt for this CVE to draft a starting detection in your stack of choice:

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07Related CVEs

No directly-cited follow-up CVEs in the KB record for this advisory. The references list in section 09 carries the vendor cross-references.

08Timeline

• Published: 2023-10-04T19:06:50.436Z
• Last modified: 2024-09-20T14:06:20.956Z

09References

• github.com — https://github.com/input-output-hk/hydra/security/advisories/GHSA-9m8q-7wxv-v65p
• github.com — https://github.com/input-output-hk/hydra/blob/1e13b60a7b21c5ccd6c36e3cf220547f5d…
• github.com — https://github.com/input-output-hk/hydra/blob/1e13b60a7b21c5ccd6c36e3cf220547f5d…
• github.com — https://github.com/input-output-hk/hydra/blob/master/CHANGELOG.md#0130---2023-10…
• github.com — https://github.com/input-output-hk/hydra/blob/master/hydra-plutus/src/Hydra/Cont…