CVE-2026-48100: Payy: agg_agg trailing message slots are unconstrained and allow forged burn messages

Published Sep 28, 2026
·
Updated

Payy is an Ethereum L2 zk-rollup for privacy preserving and regulatory compliant transactions. Prior to version 1.3.0, aggagg forwards the compacted message stream from its inner proofs into a public messages: [Field; 1000] array, but it never checks that the unused tail of the outer array is zero. A registered prover can build a valid aggfinal proof for an approved rollup block while inserting an extra burn message after the real messages. RollupV1.verifyRollup() then parses that public input as a normal burn and transfers USDC from the rollup contract to the attacker. This is a severe circuit soundness failure: the proof system accepts a public statement whose messages array is not fully derived from the verified inner proofs. On the current deployment, verifyRollup() is restricted to the existing allowlisted prover, so a fresh public caller cannot submit the invalid proof directly. That gate limits who can reach L1 today; it does not make the circuit statement sound. The issue becomes permissionless under the prover model described in the Payy whitepaper. Section 3.3.2 states: "To join as a prover, the prover is required to submit a small stake", and Section 3.3.1 states that if a prover fails to submit, "other nodes can submit the block proof instead." In that model, an attacker only needs to become a registered prover and use public validator approval data for an already approved block. This issue has been patched in version 1.3.0.

Affected Software

1 affected component
Payy Payy<1.3.0

Remediation

Recommended actions to resolve this vulnerability, in priority order.

  1. Upgrade

    Upgrade Payy agg_agg to a version that resolves this vulnerability.

    Fixed in 1.3.0

Event History

Sep 28, 2026
CVE Published
via MITRE·04:43 PM
Data Sourced
via MITRE·04:43 PM
DescriptionWeakness
Data Sourced
via NVD·05:17 PM
DescriptionSeverityWeakness

Frequently Asked Questions

1

Which deployments should be considered affected?

Payy deployments running a version earlier than 1.3.0 are affected. The issue concerns the rollup proof verification path that processes the public messages array.

2

Can an arbitrary external account exploit the current deployment?

Not directly. RollupV1.verifyRollup() is restricted to the existing allowlisted prover, so a fresh public caller cannot submit the invalid proof to L1; however, this restriction does not correct the unsound circuit statement.

3

What access would an attacker need to turn this into a withdrawal?

On the current deployment, the attacker would need access to the existing allowlisted prover capability to submit the forged proof. Under the permissionless prover model described in the whitepaper, a prover can join by submitting a small stake, which would broaden the set of parties able to reach this path.

4

What is the potential impact if exploitation succeeds?

A valid-looking proof can contain an extra forged burn message after the legitimate messages. The rollup contract then interprets it as a normal burn and transfers USDC from the rollup contract to the attacker.

Contact

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