Klever-Go KVM read-only execution can commit contract delete and upgrade side effects (CVE-2026-46403)
Published Last modified Sources: CVE.org, OSV
What is affected, what to do
Klever-Go is the Go implementation of the Klever blockchain protocol. Prior to 1.7.17, KVM exposes `ExecuteReadOnlyWithTypedArguments` as a read-only execution mechanism.
Update Klever-io Klever-go to version 1.7.17.
- Affected
- Klever-io Klever-go
lt *..1.7.17
- Klever-io Klever-go
- Fixed in
- Klever-io Klever-go
1.7.17
- Klever-io Klever-go
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Metrics
6.3
Priority
XIEM Effective CVSS: highest available CVSS rating from NVD and vendor data.
Source: NVD, CVSS v3
6.3
CVSS v3
Severity Medium on the scale from 0 to 10.
Source: CVE.org, OSV
0.5 %
EPSS score
Low — model estimates < 1% exploitation likelihood.
Source: FIRST EPSS, percentile 41.0
Show all metrics
- Severity
- Medium
Priority (0–325)
The priority score is a consolidated metric that condenses several individual signals into a single, action-guiding ranking: technical severity (CVSS), exploitation likelihood (EPSS), known-exploited status (KEV) and the context of the affected asset. The aim is to answer the only truly important question in vulnerability management: what first?
Read in glossary- 66.30 Methodology
Exploit maturity
An exploit is code or a technique that specifically uses a concrete vulnerability to force unintended behaviour — such as executing code or escalating privileges. It is the tool that turns a theoretical flaw into a practical attack.
Read in glossary- no public PoC known
XIEM Effective CVSS
XIEM® is the tiered managed-security operating model from NEOSEC and a registered trademark of NEOSEC GmbH. It extends classic SIEM — the central collection, normalisation and correlation of security-relevant events — with endpoint forensics, network visibility and deception technology, and consolidates them into three building tiers: Sentry, Orchestrate and Command.
Read in glossary- 6.3 Methodology
CVSS v3
CVSS is the globally established, open standard for assessing the technical severity of a vulnerability on a scale from 0 to 10. It describes how easily a flaw can be exploited and what damage it can cause — but not how likely its actual exploitation is. CVSS and the complementary EPSS deliberately answer different questions.
Read in glossary- 6.3
EPSS score
The EPSS score is the absolute model output for an individual vulnerability: the estimated probability of real-world exploitation within the next 30 days, expressed as a value between 0 and 1 (i.e. 0 % to 100 %). A score of 0.42 means „the model estimates a 42 % chance of real-world exploitation within 30 days“.
Read in glossary- 0.5 %
- Low — model estimates < 1% exploitation likelihood.
EPSS percentile
The EPSS percentile is the relative position of a vulnerability within all EPSS-scored CVEs, expressed as a value between 0 and 1. A percentile of 0.90 means „this CVE has a higher EPSS score than 90 % of all other scored CVEs“. Unlike the EPSS score, it is not a probability — but a positioning within a ranking.
Read in glossary- 41.0
- High — this CVE ranks above the median of all CVEs scored today (rank ≥ 36%).
KEV status
The KEV catalogue is a list maintained by the US authority CISA of vulnerabilities for which active exploitation in the wild has been confirmed. It answers not the question „how severe?“ but „is it already being attacked?“ — thereby sharply prioritising patching.
Read in glossary- —
- Published
CWE
CWE is a catalogue of typical weakness types in software and hardware — such as flawed input validation, unsafe memory handling or poor authentication. Where a CVE names a concrete vulnerability in a concrete product, a CWE describes the underlying class of defect.
Read in glossary- CWE-693
Detection rules
No NEOSEC detection rule is available for this vulnerability yet.
Classification under NIS2 and CRA
Rule-based classification from exploitation status and severity. It does not replace a case-by-case assessment.
NIS2
NIS2 is EU Directive (EU) 2022/2555 to raise the level of cybersecurity across the Union. It substantially broadens obligations compared with the first NIS directive: more sectors, mandatory risk management, staged reporting duties and personal accountability of senior management.
Read in glossary- Handle the vulnerability in regular vulnerability handling under Art. 21(2)(e) NIS2.
CRA
The CRA is EU Regulation (EU) 2024/2847 setting horizontal cybersecurity requirements for „products with digital elements“ — from industrial controllers and software to connected consumer devices. For the first time manufacturers must ensure security across the entire product lifecycle, handle vulnerabilities and provide security updates.
Read in glossary- From 11.12.2027, Annex I Part II CRA requires manufacturers of affected products with digital elements to handle vulnerabilities without delay and provide security updates.
ISO/IEC 27001
ISO/IEC 27001 is the internationally leading standard for an information security management system (ISMS). It describes a risk-based, process-oriented framework to systematically plan, implement, review and improve information security.
Read in glossary- Control A.8.8, management of technical vulnerabilities: assess relevance to your systems, plan remediation and keep evidence.
Description
Klever-Go is the Go implementation of the Klever blockchain protocol. Prior to 1.7.17, KVM exposes `ExecuteReadOnlyWithTypedArguments` as a read-only execution mechanism. The hook saves the previous read-only state, sets `runtime.SetReadOnly(true)`, executes the destination context, and then restores the previous read-only state. However, the indirect contract delete and upgrade paths do not reject execution when `runtime.ReadOnly()` is true. As a result, a contract reached through read-only execution can call the production delete hook for a target contract it owns. The delete path appends the target address to `vmOutput.DeletedAccounts`, the output context merges `DeletedAccounts` into the caller output, and the smart contract processor later processes the VM output by deleting accounts listed in that field. The root cause is that read-only mode is applied as runtime state, but not enforced by the state-changing delete and upgrade host-core paths. This breaks the expected isolation boundary for workflows that rely on read-only calls to inspect another contract without allowing that callee to produce state-changing VM output. The issue is fixed in v1.7.17. Contract delete and upgrade host-core paths now reject execution when `runtime.ReadOnly()` is true. The invariant is regression-tested for delete, upgrade, storage writes, value transfers, and any VM output field that can later mutate chain state.
Source: NVD (NIST), cvelistv5, OSV (Open Source Vulnerabilities)
Affected products
The following versions are affected. Older releases of the same product line are also vulnerable unless stated otherwise.
| Affected versions | Fixed in | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| klever-io | klever-go |
|
|
| go | github.com/klever-io/klever-go |
|
|
Vendors and products
Weakness classes (CWE)
CWE-693Protection Mechanism Failure
Pillar
The product does not use or incorrectly uses a protection mechanism that provides sufficient defense against directed attacks against the product.
Entry at MITRE CWE-693
References & sources
- github.comklever-io/klever-go/security/advisories/GHSA-jc6w-wmfc-fh33advisory, x_refsource_CONFIRM
- github.comklever-io/klever-go/commit/333f6ec910906e227705fc5767dc897d8fbf…fix, x_refsource_MISC
- github.comklever-io/klever-go/commit/68b94a40824fac2d848a4ded6eb7c91ada6c…fix, x_refsource_MISC
- github.comklever-io/klever-gopackage
Changes to this CVE
Who changed this CVE and when: NVD (analysis, affected products, CVSS), the CVE publisher (CNA) and additional providers such as CISA (ADP).
Record modifiedCISA ADP
CISA assessment (SSVC): exploitation: proof of concept, automatable: no
Show 2 original changes
Individual changes of this event as published by NVD Type Action Before After Reference added —https://github.com/klever-io/klever-go/security/advisories/GHSA-jc6w-wmfc-fh33SSVC assessment added —{"id":"CVE-2026-46403","role":"CISA Coordinator","options":[{"exploitation":"poc"},{"automatable":"no"},{"technicalImpact":"partial"}],"version":"2.0.3","timestamp":"2026-07-22T14:26:16.323007Z"}Source identifier: 134c704f-9b21-4f2e-91b3-4a467353bcc0
ReceivedGitHub
CVSS V3.1: AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:N
Weakness type: CWE-693
Description added or changed
Show 7 original changes
Individual changes of this event as published by NVD Type Action Before After Affected versions (publisher) added —klever-goDescription added —Klever-Go is the Go implementation of the Klever blockchain protocol. Prior to 1.7.17, KVM exposes `ExecuteReadOnlyWithTypedArguments` as a read-only execution mechanism. The hook saves the previous read-only state, sets `runtime.SetReadOnly(true)`, executes the destination context, and then restores the previous read-only state. However, the indirect contract delete and upgrade paths do not reject execution when `runtime.ReadOnly()` is true. As a result, a contract reached through read-only execution can call the production delete hook for a target contract it owns. The delete path appends the target address to `vmOutput.DeletedAccounts`, the output context merges `DeletedAccounts` into the caller output, and the smart contract processor later processes the VM output by deleting accounts listed in that field. The root cause is that read-only mode is applied as runtime state, but not enforced by the state-changing delete and upgrade host-core paths. This breaks the expected isolation boundary for workflows that rely on read-only calls to inspect another contract without allowing that callee to produce state-changing VM output. The issue is fixed in v1.7.17. Contract delete and upgrade host-core paths now reject execution when `runtime.ReadOnly()` is true. The invariant is regression-tested for delete, upgrade, storage writes, value transfers, and any VM output field that can later mutate chain state.CVSS added —AV:N/AC:H/PR:L/UI:N/S:C/C:N/I:H/A:NWeakness type (CWE) added —CWE-693Reference added —https://github.com/klever-io/klever-go/commit/333f6ec910906e227705fc5767dc897d8fbfc862Reference added —https://github.com/klever-io/klever-go/commit/68b94a40824fac2d848a4ded6eb7c91ada6ce9efReference added —https://github.com/klever-io/klever-go/security/advisories/GHSA-jc6w-wmfc-fh33Source identifier: security-advisories@github.com
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<a href="https://intel.neosec.eu/en/cve/CVE-2026-46403"><img src="https://intel.neosec.eu/badge/cve/CVE-2026-46403.svg?lang=en" alt="CVE-2026-46403 – NEOSEC Intel" height="20"></a>