'Bitcoin Inscription Vulnerability Identified: Potential Impact on Ordinals Protocol'
Summary:
Bitcoin's inscriptions have been identified as a cybersecurity risk by the National Vulnerability Database, highlighting a flaw that allowed the creation of the Ordinals Protocol in 2022. The vulnerability allows for a datacarrier limit to be bypassed in some versions of Bitcoin. The issue is being examined and could lead to excessive non-transactional data spamming in the blockchain. This flaw gained prominence with the inception of Ordinals, a protocol that embedded unique digital art into bitcoin transactions, similar to nonfungible tokens (NFTs) on Ethereum. Addressing the vulnerability could limit further Ordinals inscriptions, though existing ones will remain due to the immutability of the network.
On the 9th of December, Bitcoin's inscriptions were identified as a cybersecurity hazard by the National Vulnerability Database (NVD), highlighting a security loophole that allowed the creation of the Ordinals Protocol in 2022. Based on database reports, certain versions of Bitcoin Core and Bitcoin Knots allow a datacarrier limit to be circumvented by disguising data as code. "Inscriptions exploited this in practice in 2022 and 2023," the report states. Inclusion in the NVD’s list signifies a particular cybersecurity vulnerability has been identified, logged, and deemed crucial for public knowledge. This database is administered by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), a branch of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Bitcoin’s vulnerability is captured in the system of Common Vulnerabilities and Exposures (CVE). Source: CVE Records.
Currently, Bitcoin's network vulnerability is being scrutinized. Potential consequences include an influx of irrelevant data clogging the blockchain, possibly leading to an increase in network size and negatively impacting performance and fees. The NVD's website displays a recent X (previously named Twitter) post from Luke Dashjr, a Bitcoin Core developer, as a source of information. Dashjr claims that inscriptions leverage a Bitcoin Core weakness to flood the network with spam. A user in the discussion compared it to "sifting through daily junk mail to spot the ones from your contacts. It hampers the process."
Why does it matter to Ordinals?
An inscription involves appending extra data to a specific satoshi (Bitcoin's smallest unit). Any digital data, such as an image, text, or other types of media, can be added. Once data is inserted into a satoshi, it permanently resides in the Bitcoin blockchain.
While data insertion has been a feature of the Bitcoin protocol for a while, its popularity surged with the introduction of Ordinals in late 2022. This protocol permitted unique digital artwork to be directly imprinted onto Bitcoin transactions, analogous to how nonfungible tokens (NFTs) function within the Ethereum network. In 2023, the sheer volume of Ordinals transactions congested Bitcoin's network on multiple occasions, leading to heightened competition for transaction confirmation, thereby escalating fees and decelerating processing times. If this loophole were to be fixed, it could pose limitations on Ordinals inscriptions on the network. Dashjr responded "Correct," when asked if Ordinals and BRC-20 tokens “would cease to exist” if the vulnerability was remedied. However, current inscriptions would stay intact owing to the network's immutability.
Magazine: Ordinals transformed Bitcoin into a diminished version of Ethereum — Is there a solution?
Published At
12/10/2023 8:47:12 PM
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