Cosmos SDK's Integer Overflow vulnerability in its Validator Rewards pool can cause a chain halt

Description Name: ISA-2025-005: Integer Overflow in Cosmos SDK Component: CosmosSDK Criticality: High (Considerable Impact; Likely Likelihood per ACMv1.2) Affected versions: <= v0.50.13, <= 0.53.2 Affected users: Validators, Full nodes, Users on chains that utilize the distribution module Cosmos SDK chains in unpatched releases that use the x/distribution module are affected.

Description An issue was discovered in the distribution module where a malicious deposit into the Validator Rewards pool would result in an integer overflow that would cause a chain halt. A malicious validator can interact with the distribution module to introduce this state.

Patches Has the problem been patched? What versions should users upgrade to?

The new Cosmos SDK release v0.50.14 and v0.53.3 fix this issue.

There are no known workarounds for this issue. It is advised that chains apply the update.

This issue was reported to the Cosmos Bug Bounty Program by myte1111111 on HackerOne on April 15, 2025. If you believe you have found a bug in the Interchain Stack or would like to contribute to the program by reporting a bug, please see https://hackerone.com/cosmos.

If you have questions about Interchain security efforts, please reach out to our official communication channel at [email protected]. For more information about the Interchain Foundation’s engagement with Amulet, and to sign up for security notification emails, please see https://github.com/interchainio/security.