CWA-2025-006: Improper error handling may lead to IBC channel opening despite error

Severity

High (Considerable + Likely)1

Affected versions:

• wasmd 0.60.0
• wasmd >= 0.51.0 < 0.55.1

Patched versions:

• wasmd 0.60.1, 0.55.1, 0.54.1, 0.53.3

Description of the bug

A contract erroring during IBC channel opening does not prevent the channel from opening.

Applying the patch

The patch will be shipped in a wasmd release. You will also have to update libwasmvm if you build statically.
If you already use the latest / close to latest wasmd, you can update more or less as follows:

1. Check the current wasmd version: go list -m github.com/CosmWasm/wasmd
2. Bump the github.com/CosmWasm/wasmd dependency in your go.mod to 0.60.1 (Cosmos SDK 0.53 compatible), 0.55.1 (Cosmos SDK 0.50 compatible), 0.54.1 or 0.53.3; go mod tidy; commit.
3. If you use the static libraries libwasmvm_muslc.aarch64.a/libwasmvm_muslc.x86_64.a, make sure that you use the same version as your wasmvm version.
4. Check the updated wasmd version: go list -m github.com/CosmWasm/wasmd and ensure you see 0.60.1, 0.55.1, 0.54.1 or 0.53.3.
5. Follow your regular practices to deploy chain upgrades.

The patch is consensus breaking.

Acknowledgement

This problem was discovered during an audit of the CosmWasm stack performed by Sherlock and funded by ICF/ICL in Q1 2025. Thank you for that work!

If you believe you have found a bug in the Interchain Stack or would like to contribute to the
program by reporting a bug, please see https://hackerone.com/cosmos.

Timeline

• 2025-03-03: Auditor informs Confio about this issue.
• 2025-04-10: Confio developed the patch internally.
• 2025-06-05: Upcoming patch is announced.
• 2025-06-10: Patch is released.

References

• GHSA-79xg-q4qm-7v9w
• https://github.com/CosmWasm/advisories/blob/main/CWAs/CWA-2025-006.md

1. following Amulet’s Severity Classification Framework ACMv1.2: https://github.com/interchainio/security/blob/0295254e8645301ccb606d46108a45cede0a73e0/resources/CLASSIFICATION_MATRIX.md ↩