GHSA-7p92-x423-vwj6 Plonk verifier KZG multi point verification

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A flaw in the Plonk verifier allows attackers to forge valid proofs by exploiting weak randomness, bypassing verification checks in Go applications.

Exploited in the wild
Not known
Login needed
Not needed
Attackable
Over the internet
Victim action needed
Not needed
Fix
Available

What is GHSA-7p92-x423-vwj6?

GHSA-7p92-x423-vwj6 is a vulnerability in github.com/consensys/gnark, published on 17 Oct 2023. An attacker can exploit it over the internet without logging in, with no action from the victim.

Official description

Impact

The vulnerability allows a third party to derive a valid proof from a valid initial tuple {proof, public_inputs}, corresponding to the same public inputs as the initial proof. It is due to a randomness being generated using a small part of the scratch memory describing the state, allowing for degrees of freedom in the transcript.

Note that the impact is limited to the PlonK verifier smart contract.

Patches

We still use a hash function on some data to have a pseudo rng, but instead of hashing the first 32 bytes of the state ( let random := mod(keccak256(state, 0x20), r_mod) )

we hash the whole state at this point of the verifier as if it was a Fiat Shamir transcript:

        mstore(mPtr, mload(add(state, STATE_FOLDED_DIGESTS_X)))
        mstore(add(mPtr, 0x20), mload(add(state, STATE_FOLDED_DIGESTS_Y)))
        mstore(add(mPtr, 0x40), calldataload(add(aproof, PROOF_BATCH_OPENING_AT_ZETA_X)))
        mstore(add(mPtr, 0x60), calldataload(add(aproof, PROOF_BATCH_OPENING_AT_ZETA_Y)))
        mstore(add(mPtr, 0x80), calldataload(add(aproof, PROOF_GRAND_PRODUCT_COMMITMENT_X)))
        mstore(add(mPtr, 0xa0), calldataload(add(aproof, PROOF_GRAND_PRODUCT_COMMITMENT_Y)))
        mstore(add(mPtr, 0xc0), calldataload(add(aproof, PROOF_OPENING_AT_ZETA_OMEGA_X)))
        mstore(add(mPtr, 0xe0), calldataload(add(aproof, PROOF_OPENING_AT_ZETA_OMEGA_Y)))
        mstore(add(mPtr, 0x100), mload(add(state, STATE_ZETA)))
        mstore(add(mPtr, 0x120), mload(add(state, STATE_GAMMA_KZG)))
        let random := staticcall(gas(), 0x2, mPtr, 0x140, mPtr, 0x20)

Workarounds

In the function batch_verify_multi_points, the variable random (corresponding to u in the paper, step 12 of the plonk verification process) should depend on state_folded_digests_x, state_folded_digests_y, proof_grand_product_commitment_x, proof_grand_product_commitment_y and state_zeta (by hashing those values for instance).

Which versions are affected by GHSA-7p92-x423-vwj6?

3 open source packages ship an affected version, including github.com/consensys/gnark.

PackageAffectedFixed in
github.com/consensys/gnark GoAll versions0.9.1
github.com/consensys/gnark GoAll versions0.9.1
github.com/consensys/gnark GoAll versions0.9.1

How do I fix GHSA-7p92-x423-vwj6?

Upgrade github.com/consensys/gnark to 0.9.1 or later.

Is GHSA-7p92-x423-vwj6 being exploited?

There is no known exploitation of GHSA-7p92-x423-vwj6 in the wild and no public exploit code.

Sources

Also known as GO-2023-2119.

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