CVE-2025-54429: Polkadot Frontier is an Ethereum and EVM compatibility layer for Polkadot and Substrate. There are various account address types in Frontier, e.g. pre...

Description

Polkadot Frontier is an Ethereum and EVM compatibility layer for Polkadot and Substrate. There are various account address types in Frontier, e.g. precompiled contracts, smart contracts, and externally owned accounts. Some EVM mechanisms should be unreachable by certain types of accounts for safety. For precompiles to be callable by smart contracts they must be explicitly configured as CallableByContract. If this configuration is absent, then the precompile should be unreachable via smart contract accounts. In commits prior to 0822030, the underlying implementation of CallableByContract which returned the AddressType was incorrect. It considered the contract address running under CREATE or CREATE2 to be AddressType::EOA rather than correctly as AddressType::Contract. The issue only affects users who use custom precompile implementations that utilize AddressType::EOA and AddressType::Contract. It's not directly exploitable in any of the predefined precompiles in Frontier. This is fixed in version 0822030.

Metrics

CVSS 4.0

6.9/10

CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:L/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N/E:X/CR:X/IR:X/AR:X/MAV:X/MAC:X/MAT:X/MPR:X/MUI:X/MVC:X/MVI:X/MVA:X/MSC:X/MSI:X/MSA:X/S:X/AU:X/R:X/V:X/RE:X/U:X

EPSS Probability

0.44%

35.0th percentile

Probability of exploitation in the next 30 days. Learn more

Weakness Enumeration

CWE-704

References

Timeline

Published: Jul 28, 2025
Last Modified: Jun 17, 2026
Status: Deferred

Frequently Asked Questions

What is CVE-2025-54429?

Polkadot Frontier is an Ethereum and EVM compatibility layer for Polkadot and Substrate. There are various account address types in Frontier, e.g. precompiled contracts, smart contracts, and externally owned accounts. Some EVM mechanisms should be unreachable by certain types of accounts for safety. For precompiles to be callable by smart contracts they must be explicitly configured as CallableByContract. If this configuration is absent, then the precompile should be unreachable via smart contract accounts. In commits prior to 0822030, the underlying implementation of CallableByContract which returned the AddressType was incorrect. It considered the contract address running under CREATE or CREATE2 to be AddressType::EOA rather than correctly as AddressType::Contract. The issue only affects users who use custom precompile implementations that utilize AddressType::EOA and AddressType::Contract. It's not directly exploitable in any of the predefined precompiles in Frontier. This is fixed in version 0822030.

How severe is CVE-2025-54429?

CVE-2025-54429 has a CVSS score of 6.9/10 (MEDIUM severity). The EPSS model estimates a 0.44% probability of exploitation in the next 30 days.

How do I fix CVE-2025-54429?

Check the vendor references and advisories linked above for patched versions and mitigation guidance. You can also run a Strix scan to test if your systems are affected.