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Bitcoin CoreApplication · Bitcoin

CVE-2024-52920

HIGH · 7.5 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-11-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 0.20.0 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
Bitcoin Core before 0.20.0 allows remote attackers to cause a denial of service (infinite loop) via a malformed GETDATA message.

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

Bitcoin Core before version 0.20.0 contains a vulnerability in its P2P message handling where a malformed GETDATA message can trigger an infinite loop, causing a denial of service condition that renders the node unresponsive.

MitigationUpgrade Bitcoin Core to version 0.20.0 or later to patch the vulnerability. In production environments, test the upgrade in a staging environment first to verify compatibility with existing configurations and integrations.

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:< 0.20.0

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
Privileges
None
User interaction
None
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
None
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:L/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H

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 Bitcoin Core installation and version
    Run `bitcoin-cli getnetworkinfo` or `bitcoind --version` to retrieve the installed Bitcoin Core version
    Affected if The version displayed is less than 0.20.0 (e.g., 0.19.x, 0.18.x, etc.)
  2. Confirm P2P networking is enabled
    Check bitcoin.conf for `listen=1` (default) or run `bitcoin-cli getnetworkinfo` and verify `localaddresses` is populated, indicating the node accepts incoming P2P connections
    Affected if P2P networking is enabled (default behavior), as the vulnerability is triggered via P2P message handling
  3. Verify node is reachable on P2P port
    Check that port 8333 (mainnet) or 18333 (testnet) is open and listening via `netstat -tlnp | grep bitcoin` or similar network diagnostic
    Affected if The node has an open P2P port, allowing external peers to send malformed GETDATA messages
  4. Check for unresponsive node behavior
    Monitor `bitcoin-cli getblockchaininfo` for stalled updates or attempt `bitcoin-cli getblockcount` and observe if commands hang
    Affected if The node becomes unresponsive or commands timeout, indicating a possible infinite loop from a malformed GETDATA message

A user is affected if their Bitcoin Core version is below 0.20.0 and the node has P2P networking enabled, making it susceptible to a malformed GETDATA message causing an infinite loop.

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.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 0.20.0 or later
Fixed in 0.20.0
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Bitcoin Core to version 0.20.0 or later to patch the vulnerability. In production environments, test the upgrade in a staging environment first to verify compatibility with existing configurations and integrations.

Recommended fix High confidence

Bitcoin Core 0.20.0 or later

  1. 1. Backup your wallet and Bitcoin Core data directory before proceeding with any upgrade.
  2. 2. Download Bitcoin Core version 0.20.0 or later from the official Bitcoin Core website (bitcoincore.org).
  3. 3. Verify the downloaded binary's cryptographic signature as instructed in Bitcoin Core's release documentation.
  4. 4. Stop the currently running Bitcoin Core node gracefully.
  5. 5. Install or replace the Bitcoin Core binaries with the new version.
  6. 6. Restart the Bitcoin Core node and verify it is running correctly.
  7. 7. Monitor the node for正常运行 and check logs for any errors.
Caveat Review Bitcoin Core 0.20.0 release notes for any changes to RPC interface, configuration options, or consensus rules that may affect your setup

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Bitcoin Core Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation2.0 h
  • Testing6.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
13.0 hours of engineering $2,220
Get the upgrade done

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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-2024-52920 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