CVE-2022-35961

CVE-2022-35961 is a high-severity vulnerability in Openzeppelin Contracts with a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.9. It is not currently listed as actively exploited by CISA, and its EPSS exploit-prediction score is low. The underlying weakness is classified as CWE-354.

Key facts

Description

OpenZeppelin Contracts is a library for secure smart contract development. The functions `ECDSA.recover` and `ECDSA.tryRecover` are vulnerable to a kind of signature malleability due to accepting EIP-2098 compact signatures in addition to the traditional 65 byte signature format. This is only an issue for the functions that take a single `bytes` argument, and not the functions that take `r, v, s` or `r, vs` as separate arguments. The potentially affected contracts are those that implement signature reuse or replay protection by marking the signature itself as used rather than the signed message or a nonce included in it. A user may take a signature that has already been submitted, submit it again in a different form, and bypass this protection. The issue has been patched in 4.7.3.

Frequently asked questions

What is CVE-2022-35961?
OpenZeppelin Contracts is a library for secure smart contract development. The functions `ECDSA.recover` and `ECDSA.tryRecover` are vulnerable to a kind of signature malleability due to accepting EIP-2098 compact signatures in addition to the traditional 65 byte signature format. This is only an issue for the functions that take a single `bytes` argument, and not the functions that take `r, v, s` or `r, vs` as separate arguments. The potentially affected contracts are those that implement signature reuse or replay protection by marking the signature itself as used rather than the signed message or a nonce included in it. A user may take a signature that has already been submitted, submit it again in a different form, and bypass this protection. The issue has been patched in 4.7.3.
How severe is CVE-2022-35961?
CVE-2022-35961 has a CVSS 3.x base score of 7.9, rated high severity. It is exploitable over network with high attack complexity, requires low privileges and user interaction. Impact on confidentiality is high, integrity high, and availability low.
Is CVE-2022-35961 being actively exploited?
It is not currently listed in CISA's KEV catalog. Its EPSS exploit-prediction score is 0% (26th percentile), an estimate of the probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.
What products are affected by CVE-2022-35961?
CVE-2022-35961 primarily affects Openzeppelin Contracts. In total, 2 product configurations (CPEs) are listed as vulnerable; see the affected-products list for the exact versions.
How do I fix CVE-2022-35961?
Review the linked vendor and NVD advisories for patched versions and mitigations, then upgrade or apply the recommended workaround. Given its high severity, prioritise patching exposed systems.
When was CVE-2022-35961 published?
CVE-2022-35961 was published on 2022-08-15 and last updated on 2026-06-17.

References

Affected products (2)

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