---
id: CVE-2026-54542
title: >-
  Nimiq is a Rust implementation of the Nimiq Proof-of-Stake protocol based on
  the Albatross consensus algorithm
summary: >-
  Nimiq is a Rust implementation of the Nimiq Proof-of-Stake protocol based on
  the Albatross consensus algorithm. Prior to 1.6.0, a malicious state-sync peer
  can crash a syncing node by sending a crafted TrieChunk whose proof contains a
  Tr…
severity: low
cvss: 3.7
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:N/AC:H/PR:N/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:L'
cwe:
  - CWE-125
vendor: nimiq
product: core-rs-albatross
affected:
  - core-rs-albatross < 1.6.0
patched:
  - nimiq-primitives 1.6.0
published: '2026-09-14'
updated: '2026-09-14'
sourceUpdated: '2026-09-14T20:16:46.453'
source: NVD
sourceUrl: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-54542'
references:
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/nimiq/core-rs-albatross/commit/eabfc3e21731b0628c3f933163a0f1e1864217bf
    label: security-advisories@github.com
  - url: 'https://github.com/nimiq/core-rs-albatross/pull/3790'
    label: security-advisories@github.com
  - url: 'https://github.com/nimiq/core-rs-albatross/releases/tag/v1.6.0'
    label: security-advisories@github.com
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/nimiq/core-rs-albatross/security/advisories/GHSA-5rg2-xv9j-gv5p
    label: security-advisories@github.com
  - url: 'https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-5rg2-xv9j-gv5p'
tags:
  - nvd
  - cve.org
  - ghsa
  - rust
ssvc:
  exploitation: none
  automatable: 'no'
  technicalImpact: partial
  timestamp: '2026-09-14T19:20:57.604270Z'
aliases:
  - GHSA-5rg2-xv9j-gv5p
ecosystem: rust
ingestedAt: '2026-07-16T20:58:03.022Z'
epss: 0.00275
epssPercentile: 0.20082
---

## Overview

Nimiq is a Rust implementation of the Nimiq Proof-of-Stake protocol based on the Albatross consensus algorithm. Prior to 1.6.0, a malicious state-sync peer can crash a syncing node by sending a crafted TrieChunk whose proof contains a TrieNodeChild suffix that is individually valid but exceeds the 63-byte KeyNibbles backing array when combined with the parent key. KeyNibbles::Add in primitives/src/key_nibbles.rs performs the combined slice operation without checking the total length, and the input reaches put_chunk, TrieNodeChild::key, and TrieNodeChild::is_stump before proof.verify, so the attacker does not need a valid cryptographic proof. Exploitation requires the attacker to be selected as the victim's sync peer during state sync. The resulting out-of-bounds panic is transient because the node restarts and resynchronizes. This issue is fixed in version 1.6.0.

## Remediation

Refer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.

## Package advisory (CVE-2026-54542)

Affected packages:

- `nimiq-primitives < 1.6.0`

Patched in:

- `nimiq-primitives 1.6.0`

Source: https://github.com/advisories/GHSA-5rg2-xv9j-gv5p