Security context

What an agent needs to avoid regressing past fixes and find the next vuln in this repo.

paritytech/libsecp256k1

              master @ f992b80
            

Fixes

CVEs

CRITICAL

Peak severity

Highlights

Cryptographic Issues: 3 prior fixes. Scrutinize any change in this area.

src/scalar.rs: most-fixed (4 issues). Treat as high-risk during review.

6 high-severity fixes in this history; regressions here are high-impact.

Recurring patterns

The bug types that recur here, drawn from past fixes, not open vulnerabilities.

Signature Malleability: Allowing R or S parameters to be larger than the curve order can allow attackers to construct and verify invalid signatures, bypassing cryptographic controls (CVE-2021-38195).

Side-Channel Leak: Timing side-channels in scalar operations (specifically in check_overflow) allow attackers to extract sensitive data or cryptographic keys by measuring timing differences.

Cryptography Bug: Inverting logic checks (such as point-at-infinity verification) or failing to properly adjust recovery IDs directly compromises the integrity of ECDSA signature verification and recovery.