CVE-2025-21607: Vyper Does Not Check the Success of Certain Precompile Calls
(updated )
When the Vyper Compiler uses the precompiles EcRecover (0x1) and Identity (0x4), the success flag of the call is not checked. As a consequence an attacker can provide a specific amount of gas to make these calls fail but let the overall execution continue. Then the execution result can be incorrect.
Based on EVM’s rules, after the failed precompile the remaining code has only 1/64 of the pre-call-gas left (as 63/64 were forwarded and spent). Hence, only fairly simple executions can follow the failed precompile calls. Therefore, we found no significantly impacted real-world contracts.
The fix is tracked in https://github.com/vyperlang/vyper/pull/4451.
References
- github.com/advisories/GHSA-vgf2-gvx8-xwc3
- github.com/pypa/advisory-database/tree/main/vulns/vyper/PYSEC-2025-33.yaml
- github.com/vyperlang/vyper
- github.com/vyperlang/vyper/commit/7136eab0a254aa2ff7ddca41cc05f2ee1fa99caf
- github.com/vyperlang/vyper/pull/4451
- github.com/vyperlang/vyper/security/advisories/GHSA-vgf2-gvx8-xwc3
- nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2025-21607
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