CVE-2026-54541
nimiq-primitives: Panic in TrieProof::verify via child_index unwrap on equal-length keys
Description
### Impact A malicious peer acting as a state-sync source can crash a syncing node by sending a crafted `TrieChunk` whose proof contains two `TrieProofNode`s with identical keys. `TrieProof::verify()` calls `TrieProofNode::child_index()` (`primitives/src/trie/trie_proof_node.rs:94`), which unconditionally unwraps `KeyNibbles::get(self.key.len())`. Because `is_prefix_of` returns `true` for two equal keys, execution reaches `get(len)`, which returns `None`, and the `unwrap()` panics. The panic is reached from untrusted network input (`ResponseChunk` → `commit_chunks` → `put_chunk` → `proof.verify()`) **before** any cryptographic proof verification, so the attacker does not need to produce a valid proof. Exploitation requires the attacker to be selected as the victim's sync peer while the victim is performing state sync, and the resulting crash is transient (the node restarts and re-syncs). Affected: core-rs-albatross <= 1.5.1 (`nimiq-primitives`). ### Patches Fixed in **1.6.0** via https://github.com/nimiq/core-rs-albatross/pull/3789 (commit `41d35ace`). `child_index` now rejects equal-length keys and returns `MerkleRadixTrieError::WrongPrefix` instead of unwrapping. ### Workarounds None other than syncing only from trusted peers. Upgrade to 1.6.0.
How to fix CVE-2026-54541
To remediate CVE-2026-54541, upgrade the affected package to a fixed version below.
- —upgrade to 1.6.0 or later
Is CVE-2026-54541 being exploited?
No exploitation signal available. Neither CISA KEV nor a current EPSS score has been published for CVE-2026-54541.
Affected packages (1)
- from 0, < 1.6.0
CVSS scores
| Source | Version | Severity | Vector |
|---|---|---|---|
| osv | CVSS 3.1 | LOW3.7 | CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L |