CVE-2025-24883: Go-Ethereum (Geth) DoS Vulnerability

CVE-2025-24883 Overview

CVE-2025-24883 is a denial of service vulnerability affecting go-ethereum (geth), the official Golang implementation of the Ethereum protocol execution layer. A remote attacker can exploit this vulnerability to force a vulnerable Ethereum node to shutdown or crash by sending a specially crafted message. This vulnerability poses significant risks to Ethereum network infrastructure, potentially disrupting blockchain operations and node availability.

Critical Impact

Remote attackers can crash Ethereum nodes without authentication, potentially disrupting blockchain network operations and causing service availability issues for node operators.

Affected Products

• go-ethereum (geth) versions prior to 1.14.13

Discovery Timeline

• 2025-01-30 - CVE-2025-24883 published to NVD
• 2025-01-30 - Last updated in NVD database

Technical Details for CVE-2025-24883

Vulnerability Analysis

This vulnerability is classified under CWE-248 (Uncaught Exception), which occurs when an application fails to properly handle or catch exceptions during execution. In the context of go-ethereum, the vulnerability allows an attacker to trigger an unhandled exception condition that leads to immediate node termination.

The attack is network-accessible and requires no authentication or user interaction, making it particularly dangerous for publicly exposed Ethereum nodes. Successful exploitation results in complete loss of availability for the targeted node, though it does not impact data confidentiality or integrity.

Root Cause

The root cause of CVE-2025-24883 lies in improper exception handling within go-ethereum's message processing logic. When the node receives a specially crafted network message, the application fails to properly catch and handle the resulting exception, causing the entire process to terminate unexpectedly. This represents a failure to implement defensive programming practices around input validation and error handling in critical network-facing code paths.

Attack Vector

The attack vector for this vulnerability is network-based, allowing remote exploitation without requiring prior authentication or privileges. An attacker can target any publicly accessible Ethereum node running a vulnerable version of geth by sending malicious network packets. The attack is relatively straightforward to execute once the specific message format is known, as it requires only network connectivity to the target node's P2P communication port.

The exploitation mechanism involves crafting a network message that triggers the uncaught exception condition within geth's message handling routines. When processed, this malformed message causes the node to crash, effectively taking it offline until manually restarted.

Detection Methods for CVE-2025-24883

Indicators of Compromise

• Unexpected geth process terminations without corresponding system or resource issues
• Crash logs or core dumps from geth processes indicating unhandled exceptions
• Suspicious network traffic patterns targeting Ethereum P2P ports (typically port 30303)
• Multiple rapid restart cycles of geth nodes within short time periods

Detection Strategies

• Monitor geth process stability and implement alerting for unexpected process terminations
• Deploy network intrusion detection rules to identify malformed Ethereum protocol messages
• Analyze geth log files for exception traces and unusual error patterns preceding crashes
• Implement process monitoring to detect and alert on frequent node restart cycles

Monitoring Recommendations

• Configure continuous monitoring of Ethereum node health and availability metrics
• Set up automated alerts for geth process crashes or unexpected restarts
• Enable detailed logging of incoming network connections and message processing errors
• Monitor network traffic for anomalous patterns targeting Ethereum P2P communication channels

How to Mitigate CVE-2025-24883

Immediate Actions Required

• Upgrade go-ethereum (geth) to version 1.14.13 or later immediately
• Review and implement network segmentation to limit exposure of Ethereum nodes
• Configure firewalls to restrict P2P port access to trusted peers where possible
• Implement automated restart mechanisms to maintain node availability during attacks

Patch Information

The vulnerability has been fixed in go-ethereum version 1.14.13. The security patch addresses the uncaught exception handling issue that allowed the denial of service attack. The specific fix can be reviewed in the GitHub commit (commit hash: fa9a2ff8687ec9efe57b4b9833d5590d20f8a83f). Additional details are available in the GitHub Security Advisory GHSA-q26p-9cq4-7fc2.

Workarounds

• Implement network-level filtering to block malicious traffic patterns if upgrade is not immediately possible
• Deploy multiple redundant nodes behind load balancers to maintain availability
• Configure automated health checks and restart scripts for rapid recovery from crashes
• Consider temporarily restricting inbound P2P connections to known trusted peers until patching is complete

# Upgrade geth to patched version
# Using go install:
go install github.com/ethereum/go-ethereum/cmd/geth@v1.14.13

# Or download the latest release from GitHub releases page
# Verify the version after installation:
geth version