CVE-2021-48019
mediumpriority · track · 19EPSS 0.002 · 16 %ileUSEPSS · scored 2026-10-28
Vyper before 0.2.9 deploys forwarder proxies through the built-in create_forwarder_to function that report a fixed 4096-byte RETURNDATASIZE rather than the actual return data size. Calls through these proxies can yield corrupted data when a function returns more than 4096 bytes without return data sanitation, and fail strict return-size checks such as SafeERC20.safeTransfer.
cvss
Technical severity, 0–10. One row per scoring source.
base score 0–10 · higher = more severe · hover a vector to decode⚠ sources disagree · low–medium · 1.7–6.3
ssvc
A stakeholder decision — act, attend, or track — from exploitation and impact.
weaknesses
The CWE weakness classes this flaw belongs to.
affected products (1)
Products and version ranges known to be affected.
advisories (1)
Vendor and ecosystem advisories describing this.
- GHSA-375m-5fvv-xq23VVE-2021-0002: Incorrect `returndatasize` when using simple forwarder proxies deployed prior to EIP-1167 adoption2021-04-19ghsa · osvUS
## Background @tjayrush reported a data handling issue with certain Web3 libraries using Vyper-deploy forwarder proxy contracts using our Vyper's built-in `create_forwarder_to` function prior to our change to support EIP-1167 style forwarder proxies. ### Impact If you are an end user of a forwarder-style proxy deployed using Vyper's built-in `create_forwarder_to` function AND you have a function that returns >4096 bytes AND you do no return data sanitation on the value returned, you could potentially see a data corruption issue. Otherwise, if you are handling the result of a return call AND you expect a specific `RETURNDATASIZE` that is less than 4096 (such as `SafeERC20.safeTransfer`) then the call will fail that check. ### Patches The issue was patched when we upgraded to EIP-1167 style forwarder proxies in #2281. ### Workarounds If you are making a call to a contract method that is expected to return <= 4096 bytes, there is no issue as the ABI decoders in both Solidity and Vyper will truncate the data properly. Web3 libraries will also do this, unless you are doing `eth_call` or `eth_sendTransaction` directly. If you are using a Solidity library that checks `RETURNDATASIZE` of an external call to a forwarder proxy deployed prior to this patch, it will fail on that assertion (such as `SafeERC20.safeTransfer`). The workaround is to always do a greater than or equal to check, rather than a strict equals to check.
sources
Which sources assert this record, and when.
references (2) nvd
External citations — patches, advisories, analysis.
Attackers weaponise vulnerabilities like this against internet-exposed services. See what is exposed on your perimeter with a free passive scan.
Free scan