Besu is an Ethereum client written in Java. Starting in version 21.10.0, changes in the implementation of the SHL, SHR, and SAR operations resulted in the introduction of a signed type coercion error in values that represent negative values for 32 bit signed integers. Smart contracts that ask for shifts between approximately 2 billion and 4 billion bits (nonsensical but valid values for the operation) will fail to execute and hence fail to validate. In networks where vulnerable versions are mining with other clients or non-vulnerable versions this will result in a fork and the relevant transactions will not be included in the fork. In networks where vulnerable versions are not mining (such as Rinkeby) no fork will result and the validator nodes will stop accepting blocks. In networks where only vulnerable versions are mining the relevant transaction will not be included in any blocks. When the network adds a non-vulnerable version the network will act as in the first case. Besu 21.10.2 contains a patch for this issue. Besu 21.7.4 is not vulnerable and clients can roll back to that version. There is a workaround available: Once a transaction with the relevant shift operations is included in the canonical chain, the only remediation is to make sure all nodes are on non-vulnerable versions.
This vulnerability carries a HIGH severity rating with a CVSS v3.1 score of 7.5, indicating it can be exploited remotely over the network with relatively low complexity without requiring user interaction and does not require pre-existing privileges . The vulnerability impacts and availability (service disruption) for affected systems. Impacting 1 product from linuxfoundation organizations running these solutions should prioritize assessment and patching.
Reported in 2021, this vulnerability emerged during an era marked by increased sophistication in supply chain attacks, cloud infrastructure vulnerabilities, and software-as-a-service (SaaS) security challenges. Security practices during this period emphasized zero-trust architectures, container security, and API protection.
2021-12-13T21:15:09.083
2024-11-21T06:25:56.277
Modified
CVSSv3.1: 7.5 (HIGH)
AV:N/AC:L/Au:N/C:N/I:N/A:P
10.0
2.9
| Type | Vendor | Product | Version/Range | Vulnerable? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Application | linuxfoundation | besu | 21.10.0 | Yes |
| Application | linuxfoundation | besu | 21.10.0 | Yes |
| Application | linuxfoundation | besu | 21.10.0 | Yes |
| Application | linuxfoundation | besu | 21.10.0 | Yes |
| Application | linuxfoundation | besu | 21.10.0 | Yes |
| Application | linuxfoundation | besu | 21.10.1 | Yes |
SecUtils normalizes and enriches National Vulnerability Database (NVD) records by standardizing vendor and product identifiers, aggregating vulnerability metadata from both NVD and MITRE sources, and providing structured context for security teams. For linuxfoundation's affected products, we extract Common Platform Enumeration (CPE) data, Common Weakness Enumeration (CWE) classifications, CVSS severity metrics, and reference data to enable rapid vulnerability prioritization and asset correlation. This record contains no exploit code, proof-of-concept instructions, or attack methodologies—only defensive intelligence necessary for patch management, risk assessment, and security operations.