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Bitcoin CoreApplication · Bitcoin

CVE-2010-5141

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v2.0 Published 2012-08-06
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 0.3.4 or later.
See remediation →
84/100
Remediation priority · High
Remotely reachable No privileges Zero-click

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
wxBitcoin and bitcoind before 0.3.5 do not properly handle script opcodes in Bitcoin transactions, which allows remote attackers to spend bitcoins owned by other users via unspecified vectors.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

The vulnerability exists in wxBitcoin and bitcoind (precursors to Bitcoin Core) versions before 0.3.5. The Bitcoin script interpreter did not properly validate certain script opcodes in transaction inputs, allowing attackers to craft transactions that transferred bitcoins from addresses they did not own by exploiting insufficient validation of the script execution logic.

MitigationUpgrade to Bitcoin 0.3.5 or later, which contains proper script opcode validation. If running legacy systems, migrate to supported Bitcoin software versions.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Bitcoin CoreApplication
Affected:<= 0.3.4
WxbitcoinApplication
Affected:<= 0.3.4

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Network
Complexity
Low
Authentication
None
Confidentiality
Partial
Integrity
Partial
Availability
Partial

AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:P/I:P/A:P

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Identify installed Bitcoin software
    Run 'which bitcoind' or 'which wxBitcoin' to locate the binary, or check running processes with 'ps aux | grep -i bitcoin'
    Affected if Either bitcoind or wxBitcoin is installed and running
  2. Retrieve the Bitcoin software version
    Run 'bitcoind --version' or 'wxBitcoin --version' to display version information
    Affected if Version displayed is 0.3.4 or lower (or shows no version / very early version)
  3. Compare version against affected range
    Check if the reported version number is less than or equal to 0.3.4
    Affected if Version is 0.3.4, 0.3.3, 0.3.2, 0.3.1, 0.3.0, or any earlier release
  4. Verify network connectivity
    Check if the Bitcoin process is actively connected to the network or listening on port 8333 (or 8332 for testnet)
    Affected if Vulnerable version is running and has network exposure

You are affected if you are running Bitcoin Core (bitcoind) or wxBitcoin version 0.3.4 or lower, as these versions contain the insufficient script opcode validation that allows unauthorized bitcoin transfers.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

From vendor data
Upgrade available Upgrade to a release after 0.3.4
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to Bitcoin 0.3.5 or later, which contains proper script opcode validation. If running legacy systems, migrate to supported Bitcoin software versions.

Fix this in Bitcoin Core Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
9.0 hours of engineering $1,600
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $2,560.

Scan for this in your stack

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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2010-5141 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data