CVE-2026-26315 MEDIUM

CVE-2026-26315: Go Ethereum Improperly Validates the ECIES Public Key in RLPx Handshake

Vendor Ethereum
Product go-ethereum
Weakness CWE-203
Published February 19, 2026
Last update February 20, 2026

CVSS base score

6.9/10
Attack vector Network
Attack complexity Low
Privileges required None
User interaction None
Confidentiality
Integrity

CVSS vector

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:L/VI:N/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N

What the vulnerability does

01Description

go-ethereum (Geth) is a golang execution layer implementation of the Ethereum protocol. Prior to version 1.16.9, through a flaw in the ECIES cryptography implementation, an attacker may be able to extract bits of the p2p node key. The issue is resolved in the v1.16.9 and v1.17.0 releases of Geth. Geth maintainers recommend rotating the node key after applying the upgrade, which can be done by removing the file `<datadir>/geth/nodekey` before starting Geth.

Key dates

02Disclosure timeline

February 19, 2026 CVE published
February 20, 2026 Record updated