CVE-2024-58263 Overview
CVE-2024-58263 affects the cosmwasm-std Rust crate before version 2.0.2. The vulnerability allows integer overflows that produce incorrect contract calculations. CosmWasm is the smart contract framework used across multiple Cosmos SDK blockchains, so any miscalculation inside standard library math can propagate into on-chain state.
The defect is tracked as CWE-190: Integer Overflow or Wraparound and is documented in RustSec Advisory RUSTSEC-2024-0338 and CosmWasm Advisory CWA-2024-002.
Critical Impact
Attackers can trigger arithmetic wraparound inside CosmWasm smart contracts, causing incorrect balance, fee, or accounting calculations that undermine contract integrity.
Affected Products
- cosmwasm-std Rust crate versions prior to 2.0.2
- CosmWasm-based smart contracts compiled against the vulnerable crate
- Cosmos SDK blockchains hosting contracts built on the affected library
Discovery Timeline
- 2025-07-27 - CVE-2024-58263 published to the National Vulnerability Database
- 2026-06-17 - Last updated in NVD database
Technical Details for CVE-2024-58263
Vulnerability Analysis
The cosmwasm-std crate provides the standard library and primitive numeric types used by CosmWasm smart contracts. The flaw resides in arithmetic operations that fail to guard against overflow when operating on user-supplied inputs. When an operation exceeds the bit-width of the underlying integer type, the result wraps around instead of returning an error.
Smart contracts rely on cosmwasm-std for token math, fee computation, and state accounting. An incorrect result at this layer produces an incorrect but valid state transition on chain. Because contracts are typically invoked over the network through a chain RPC endpoint, exploitation does not require authentication or privileged access.
Root Cause
The root cause is missing overflow protection in specific arithmetic paths inside cosmwasm-std before 2.0.2. Rust integer types panic on overflow in debug builds but wrap silently in release builds unless the code uses checked, saturating, or Uint* helpers. The affected paths did not consistently apply these guards, allowing crafted inputs to force wraparound. Refer to CosmWasm Advisory CWA-2024-002 for the specific code paths.
Attack Vector
An attacker submits a transaction or query that reaches a contract function performing the vulnerable arithmetic. By selecting operand values that push the computation beyond the numeric bound, the attacker forces the wraparound. The contract then commits an incorrect calculation, which can distort balances, distributions, or logic gating decisions. The attack requires no user interaction and only network access to the chain.
No verified public proof-of-concept is available. The vulnerability mechanism is described in RustSec Advisory RUSTSEC-2024-0338.
Detection Methods for CVE-2024-58263
Indicators of Compromise
- Unexpected changes in on-chain contract balances or accounting state not tied to legitimate user activity
- Transactions containing extreme numeric inputs at or near u128, u64, or Uint256 limits directed at contracts built on cosmwasm-std < 2.0.2
- Contract query responses returning arithmetic values that contradict expected invariants
Detection Strategies
- Inventory all deployed CosmWasm contracts and identify those compiled against cosmwasm-std versions earlier than 2.0.2 using Cargo.lock audits
- Run cargo audit against contract workspaces to flag RUSTSEC-2024-0338
- Add invariant checks to off-chain monitoring that reconcile expected versus actual contract state after each block
Monitoring Recommendations
- Monitor chain event streams for transactions carrying boundary-value integer arguments to affected contracts
- Alert on divergence between contract-reported totals and independently computed totals over the same inputs
- Track dependency updates in CI pipelines to ensure cosmwasm-std remains at a patched version across all contract builds
How to Mitigate CVE-2024-58263
Immediate Actions Required
- Upgrade cosmwasm-std to version 2.0.2 or later in all contract projects
- Rebuild and redeploy any contract that was compiled against a vulnerable version, following the chain's contract migration process
- Audit contract arithmetic paths that consume untrusted input for use of checked or saturating operations
Patch Information
The fix is available in cosmwasm-std version 2.0.2 and later, published on crates.io. See CosmWasm Advisory CWA-2024-002 for the authoritative remediation guidance.
Workarounds
- Wrap sensitive arithmetic in checked_add, checked_mul, and equivalent methods to force explicit error handling on overflow
- Validate and bound user-supplied numeric inputs at contract entry points before passing them to arithmetic routines
- Restrict contract invocation to trusted callers where feasible until migration to a patched build is complete
# Update the dependency in Cargo.toml and refresh the lockfile
cargo update -p cosmwasm-std --precise 2.0.2
cargo audit
cargo build --release --target wasm32-unknown-unknown
Disclaimer: This content was generated using AI. While we strive for accuracy, please verify critical information with official sources.
