Bitcoin CoreApplication · Bitcoin

CVE-2024-52921

MEDIUM · 5.3 CVSS v3.1 Published 2024-11-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 25.0 or later.
See remediation →
62/100
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
In Bitcoin Core before 25.0, a peer can affect the download state of other peers by sending a mutated block.

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

In Bitcoin Core before version 25.0, a vulnerability exists in the P2P network layer where a malicious peer can send a mutated (malformed) block to affect the download state of other connected peers. This can cause nodes to enter incorrect download states, potentially wasting resources or causing synchronization issues.

MitigationUpgrade Bitcoin Core to version 25.0 or later to obtain the fix for this vulnerability.

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:< 25.0

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
Low

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

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. Check if Bitcoin Core daemon is running
    Run `bitcoin-cli getblockchaininfo` or `bitcoin-cli getnetworkinfo`. If these commands succeed, the node is running and accessible.
    Affected if The node is not running or not accessible via bitcoin-cli.
  2. Retrieve the Bitcoin Core version
    Run `bitcoin-cli getnetworkinfo` and look for the `version` field in the output, or run `bitcoind --version` to see the version number.
    Affected if Unable to retrieve version information.
  3. Compare version against the affected range
    The affected version range is anything less than 25.0. Compare your retrieved version number to 25.0 (version 250000 in the numeric format Bitcoin Core uses).
    Affected if Your version is below 250000 (i.e., 24.x.x or earlier).
  4. Verify P2P network participation
    Run `bitcoin-cli getpeerinfo` to confirm the node has active peer connections. This vulnerability exploits the P2P block download mechanism, so the node must be connected to peers.
    Affected if The node has zero connected peers, though this only reduces exploitability rather than confirming safety.

You are affected if your Bitcoin Core version is below 25.0 (numeric version 250000) and the node is running with P2P connectivity.

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 25.0 or later
Fixed in 25.0
Interim mitigation

Upgrade Bitcoin Core to version 25.0 or later to obtain the fix for this vulnerability.

Recommended fix Moderate confidence

Bitcoin Core 25.0 or later

  1. Backup your Bitcoin Core data directory and any wallets before upgrading
  2. Download Bitcoin Core 25.0 or later from the official source at bitcoincore.org
  3. Verify the GPG signature of the downloaded binary using Bitcoin Core release signing keys (follow the official verification guide)
  4. Stop the running Bitcoin Core daemon safely (e.g., using 'bitcoin-cli stop' or sending SIGTERM)
  5. Install the new Bitcoin Core 25.0 binary, replacing the previous installation
  6. Restart the Bitcoin Core daemon
  7. Monitor the debug.log for any errors or issues following the upgrade
Caveat Review the Bitcoin Core 25.0 release notes for any configuration changes or chain migration requirements before upgrading

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

Fix this in Bitcoin Core Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation2.0 h
  • Implementation4.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
12.0 hours of engineering $2,080
Get the upgrade done

An estimate, not a bill — we confirm scope with you before any work starts. Need it this week? Rush from $3,328.

Scan for this in your stack

Free · runs locally
dbcve dependency scanner

Check whether your project pulls in CVE-2024-52921 — 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-2024-52921 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

Be the first to add a field note for this CVE — a mitigation you’ve verified, a version caveat, or a link to a working fix. Sign in above to contribute.

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