CVE-2026-52736 — ZEBRA: Block suppression via NU5 same-header body poisoning of sent-hash cache
ZEBRA is a Zcash node written entirely in Rust. Prior to 4.5.0, a remote unauthenticated P2P peer can stall a Zebra node by racing an invalid block body against the valid canonical body for the same block header hash. ZIP-244 permits the attacker to mutate coinbase scriptSig authentication data while retaining the transaction identifiers, merkle root, and block header hash, so the poisoned body fails later commitment validation but shares the canonical hash. In zebra-state/src/service.rs, queue_and_commit_to_non_finalized_state recorded the hash in non_finalized_block_write_sent_hashes before contextual validation completed and did not remove it when the write task rejected the body. When the honest body later arrived, the cached hash caused KnownBlock::WriteChannel duplicate handling to suppress it, leaving the node stuck one height behind until restart or reorganization. This issue is fixed in version 4.5.0.
Who exploits it and how urgent it is
A 0–100 score combining confirmed exploitation, ransomware and APT use, public exploits, EPSS and severity.
How the score was calculated
- Technical severity (high)+6
- Automatable exploitation (SSVC)+3
The score orders the patch queue; it does not replace your asset context (internet exposure, criticality, compensating controls).
Triage
Is it exploited, how likely is exploitation, what does it touch, and how severe do the sources call it.
CISA SSVC assessment CISA
Three decision points CISA publishes for the CVEs it assesses (SSVC 2.0.3). A stakeholder decision, not a severity score.
Remediation
Fixes and mitigations documented by the sources — linked to the original advisory.
No fix documented by the sources we poll. That does not mean none exists: check the vendor advisory.
First 24 hours
Ordered from the record’s own fields — exposure first, because you cannot patch what you have not found. A rule-generated starting point.
- Identify exposed assets running the affected vendor/product/version combinations (ZcashFoundation Zebra).
- The attack is network-based and needs no privileges: restrict exposure (ACLs, VPN, WAF) until patched.
- No fix documented in the sources: reduce exposure and monitor the vendor advisory.
- Search available logs for exploit probes, errors and authentication anomalies.
Affected scope
Vendor, product and versions as the sources word them.
| Vendor | Product | Versions | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ZcashFoundation | Zebra | version < 4.5.0 | Vulnerable | CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP |
Attack characteristics
The CVSS vector, decoded. It describes the attack, not your exposure to it.
Every base score collected
Sources score independently and may disagree; each row says who scored it and under which version.
| Score | Version | Severity | Expl. | Impact | Scored by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8.7 | CVSS 4.0 | High | — | — | security-advisories@github.com via NIST National Vulnerability Database |
| 8.7 | CVSS 4.0 | High | — | — | GitHub_M via CVE Program (cve.org) e CISA ADP |
CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X (score shown at the top: security-advisories@github.com) Weakness MITRE
Weakness class according to MITRE’s CWE catalog.
Detection
Read off the CVSS vector and the weakness class. Starting points, not tested rules.
- Prioritize edge telemetry for the network-reachable component (proxy, WAF, IDS/IPS).
Timeline
What happened to this CVE, newest first.
- 2026
- Affected products added · zcashfoundation/zebra
- SSVC assessment updated
- Record published
- CVSS changed · 8.7
- Source status changed · → Deferred
- Record created in this database
- CVE published
Source activity
Repeated readings are counted rather than listed.
- 1× Official description updated · Oct 15, 2026 – Oct 15, 2026
References
3 on the record
Elsewhere on this site
Related CVEs (same products)
- Medium CVE-2026-109364 Zebra 2.3.0 before 6.4.0 Peer Ban Bypass via Exact-IP Keying 3d
- Low CVE-2026-109366 Zebra before 6.4.0 Gossiped Block Drop via Forged Coinbase scriptSig Height 3d
- Low CVE-2026-109365 Zebra before 6.4.0 Denial of Service via Same-Hash Forged Block Bodies 3d
- High CVE-2026-109363 Zebra 6.4.0 before 6.4.2 Denial of Service via Malformed v6 Transaction 3d
- Medium CVE-2026-52739 ZEBRA: Repeated Non-Finalized Shielded Transaction Aborts Zebra Before Duplicate-Nullifier Rejection Aug 18, 2026
- High CVE-2026-52829 ZEBRA: IPv4-Mapped Mempool Misbehavior Update Aborts Zebra Address Book Aug 18, 2026
Not in any source we poll
Listed rather than left blank: an empty field and an unmeasured one look identical on screen, and only one is a reason to look elsewhere.
- No FIRST EPSS score.
- No fixed version, patch or mitigation documented.
- No confirmed IOCs, IP addresses, domains, file hashes, or malware artifacts supplied.
- No organization-specific asset inventory, compensating-control status, or patch deployment evidence supplied.
- No exploit packet captures, log samples, or incident case IDs supplied.
Answered from this record
Text assembled only from the fields above — no additional claims.
What should defenders know first?
CVE-2026-52736 is "ZEBRA: Block suppression via NU5 same-header body poisoning of sent-hash cache", rated High. It affects Zebra (ZcashFoundation); versions are in the scope table. It is not in CISA KEV, which does not rule out exploitation. CVSS 8.7 describes technical severity. First verify whether exposed or business-critical assets run the affected versions, apply vendor fixes or mitigations, and preserve logs for review.
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