Bitcoin QtApplication · Bitcoin

CVE-2013-2273

MEDIUM · 5.0 CVSS v2.0 Published 2013-03-12
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to after 0.4.8 or later.
See remediation →
59/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
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
bitcoind and Bitcoin-Qt before 0.4.9rc1, 0.5.x before 0.5.8rc1, 0.6.0 before 0.6.0.11rc1, 0.6.1 through 0.6.5 before 0.6.5rc1, and 0.7.x before 0.7.3rc1 make it easier for remote attackers to obtain potentially sensitive information about returned change by leveraging certain predictability in the outputs of a Bitcoin transaction.

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 · moderate confidence

Bitcoin-Qt and bitcoind before specified versions expose information about transaction change outputs due to predictable output selection patterns. Attackers can analyze transaction structures to identify which outputs represent change, revealing sensitive wallet behavior such as spending patterns and potentially linking addresses to user identities.

MitigationUpgrade to the patched versions (0.4.9rc1, 0.5.8rc1, 0.6.0.11rc1, 0.6.5rc1, or 0.7.3rc1 or later). For applications handling Bitcoin transactions, ensure change output selection uses cryptographic randomness to prevent predictability.

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 QtApplication
Affected:<= 0.4.8= 0.4= 0.5.0= 0.5.0.4= 0.5.1= 0.5.3.0= 0.5.7= 0.6.0.10= 0.6.3= 0.7.0= 0.7.1= 0.7.2
Bitcoin CoreApplication
Affected:all versions= 0.3.4= 0.3.5= 0.3.8= 0.3.10= 0.3.11= 0.3.12= 0.4.0= 0.4.1= 0.4.2= 0.4.3= 0.4.4
BitcoindApplication
Affected:<= 0.4.4= 0.5.7= 0.6.0.0= 0.6.0.10= 0.6.3= 0.6.4= 0.7.0= 0.7.1= 0.7.2

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
None
Availability
None

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

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 the installed Bitcoin software product
    Run 'bitcoind --version' or 'bitcoin-qt --version' from the command line, or check the application info/About dialog in the GUI
    Affected if The output shows any version of Bitcoin Core, Bitcoin-Qt, or bitcoind
  2. Determine the exact version number
    Parse the version string from the version command output - look for versions in the format like 0.3.x, 0.4.x, 0.5.x, 0.6.x, or 0.7.x
    Affected if The version matches one listed in the affected versions for your product
  3. Compare against affected version ranges
    Cross-reference your detected version with the CVE-affected version list: Bitcoin-Qt <= 0.4.8, 0.5.0-0.5.7, 0.6.0-0.6.3, 0.7.0-0.7.2; Bitcoin Core 0.3.4-0.3.12, 0.4.0-0.4.4; Bitcoind <= 0.4.4, 0.5.7, 0.6.0-0.6.4, 0.7.0-0.7.2
    Affected if Your installed version falls within any of the affected ranges listed in the CVE
  4. Confirm the software handles Bitcoin transactions
    Check if the node is actively used for transaction creation, wallet operations, or if it participates in the Bitcoin network as a full node
    Affected if The software is running as a wallet node that creates or broadcasts transactions

You are affected if you are running Bitcoin-Qt, bitcoind, or Bitcoin Core version 0.3.4 through 0.7.2 (specific to your product) and the software is used for transaction handling.

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 0.4.8
Interim mitigation

Upgrade to the patched versions (0.4.9rc1, 0.5.8rc1, 0.6.0.11rc1, 0.6.5rc1, or 0.7.3rc1 or later). For applications handling Bitcoin transactions, ensure change output selection uses cryptographic randomness to prevent predictability.

Fix this in Bitcoin Qt Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing2.0 h
  • Review / QA1.0 h
7.0 hours of engineering $1,240
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $1,984.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2013-2273 — or any other known-vulnerable package — straight from your lock files. Free and open source; it runs locally and uploads nothing.

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-2013-2273 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