GHSA-9wh6-9hq7-9688
Klever-Go: Validator registration accepts an unvalidated BLS public key → consensus liveness DoS
Quick fix
GHSA-9wh6-9hq7-9688 — github.com/klever-io/klever-go: upgrade to the fixed version with the command below.
go get github.com/klever-io/klever-go@v1.7.20Details
**Location:** `core/kapp/validators/validators.go:201` (`Register`), (`genesis/checking/nodesSetupChecker.go:73`). `core/consensus/slot/bls/subslotStartSlot.go:165` `core/consensus/.../headerSignatureVerify.go:123` (`Create(...)`).
### Description
Klever uses a BDN (Boneh-Drijvers-Neven) BLS multi-signature over BLS12-381 to finalize blocks (`crypto/signing/mcl/multisig/bls.go`, herumi/bls-go-binary). The library is initialized with only `bls.Init(bls.BLS12_381)` and no order-verification flags, so `Deserialize` does not enforce prime-order-subgroup membership subgroup safety relies on explicit `IsValidOrder()` calls in the wrappers.
Runtime validator registration (`validators.Register`) stores the submitted 96-byte `BLSPublicKey` via `SetBLSPublicKey` with **no curve check, no subgroup check, and no proof-of-possession** (`CreateValidatorContract` carries the key but no signature proving key ownership; grep confirms no `proofOfPossession`/`VerifyProof`/`BLSSignature` verification anywhere in `core/kapp/validators/`). `CheckPublicKeyValid` — which does `IsValid && IsValidOrder && !IsZero` — runs only at genesis, not on runtime registration/update.
### POC
Attack: (1) stake the minimum to register a validator, submitting a 96-byte `BLSPublicKey` that is not a valid G2 point (arbitrary bytes). Registration succeeds. (2) Once the validator is eligible and selected into a consensus group, every in-group node including the honest leader (`group[0]`) calls `MultiSigner().Reset(groupPubKeys, selfIndex)` at slot start, which deserializes all group keys via `PublicKeyFromByteArray` → herumi `Deserialize` **deterministically fails** on the malformed key → `SetSlotCanceled(true)`. The verify side (`Create(consensusPubKeys)`) fails identically. No block is produced for that round.
### Impact
Every consensus round whose group contains the malformed-key validator is a missed slot. One eligible bad-key validator poisons roughly a `groupSize / eligibleSet` fraction of rounds → sustained liveness degradation. **Where the consensus group equals the eligible set (small or early-stage networks), this is a full chain halt.** Cost is the minimum validator stake, permissionless, and repeatable; no fork flag gates the missing validation.
Rated **High** (Byzantine liveness; Critical on small validator sets). The severity scales down to a fractional missed-slot / throughput-degradation attack on a large validator set where the bad validator is only occasionally in the active group.
### Recommendation
Enforce `CheckPublicKeyValid` (curve + prime-order subgroup + non-zero) on the submitted BLS key at runtime validator registration and config-update, and ideally require a proof-of-possession (a BLS signature over the validator's own key/identity) at registration to prove key ownership and well-formedness. Gate the stricter validation behind an epoch fork flag for reprocessing consistency.
Are you affected?
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Affected packages
0Fixed in: 1.7.20go get github.com/klever-io/klever-go@v1.7.20References
- https://github.com/klever-io/klever-go/security/advisories/GHSA-9wh6-9hq7-9688[WEB]
- https://github.com/klever-io/klever-go/commit/11606a90ccc289f93d0175994733229b332d9cff[WEB]
- https://github.com/klever-io/klever-go/commit/642da967893884d635986fed3c43bdc679cbfe8f[WEB]
- https://github.com/klever-io/klever-go[PACKAGE]
- https://github.com/klever-io/klever-go/releases/tag/v1.7.20[WEB]