---
id: CVE-2026-62333
title: 'OpenVM: MemoryMerkleAir allows below-leaf rows to alter memory roots'
summary: >-
  OpenVM is a performant and modular zkVM framework built for customization and
  extensibility. Before 1.7.0 in the 1.x line and in affected 2.0 and 2.1
  prereleases, `MemoryMerkleAir` does not forbid Merkle expansion rows at
  `parent_height`…
severity: high
cvss: 8.7
cvssVector: 'CVSS:4.0/AV:N/AC:L/AT:N/PR:N/UI:N/VC:N/VI:H/VA:N/SC:N/SI:N/SA:N'
cvssSource: cna
cwe:
  - CWE-20
vendor: openvm-org
product: openvm
affected:
  - openvm < 1.7.0
  - 'openvm >= 2.0.0-alpha, < 2.0.0-rc.3'
  - 'openvm >= 2.1.0-dev.0, < 2.1.0-preview'
ssvc:
  exploitation: none
  automatable: 'yes'
  technicalImpact: partial
  timestamp: '2026-11-05T02:39:44.088042Z'
published: '2026-10-30'
updated: '2026-11-05'
sourceUpdated: '2026-11-05T02:39:53.772Z'
source: CVEORG
sourceUrl: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-62333'
references:
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/openvm-org/openvm/security/advisories/GHSA-396x-v8w4-9x82
    label: >-
      https://github.com/openvm-org/openvm/security/advisories/GHSA-396x-v8w4-9x82
  - url: 'https://github.com/openvm-org/openvm/pull/148'
    label: 'https://github.com/openvm-org/openvm/pull/148'
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/openvm-org/openvm/commit/bb123f6073691bd2b794171c594264c77e45c376
    label: >-
      https://github.com/openvm-org/openvm/commit/bb123f6073691bd2b794171c594264c77e45c376
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/openvm-org/openvm/blob/v2.0.0-alpha/crates/vm/src/system/memory/merkle/air.rs
    label: >-
      https://github.com/openvm-org/openvm/blob/v2.0.0-alpha/crates/vm/src/system/memory/merkle/air.rs
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/openvm-org/openvm/blob/v2.0.0-beta.2/crates/vm/src/system/memory/merkle/air.rs
    label: >-
      https://github.com/openvm-org/openvm/blob/v2.0.0-beta.2/crates/vm/src/system/memory/merkle/air.rs
  - url: >-
      https://github.com/openvm-org/openvm/blob/v2.1.0-dev.0/crates/vm/src/system/memory/merkle/air.rs
    label: >-
      https://github.com/openvm-org/openvm/blob/v2.1.0-dev.0/crates/vm/src/system/memory/merkle/air.rs
  - url: 'https://github.com/openvm-org/openvm/releases/tag/v1.7.0'
    label: 'https://github.com/openvm-org/openvm/releases/tag/v1.7.0'
  - url: 'https://github.com/openvm-org/openvm/releases/tag/v2.0.0-rc.3'
    label: 'https://github.com/openvm-org/openvm/releases/tag/v2.0.0-rc.3'
  - url: 'https://github.com/openvm-org/openvm/releases/tag/v2.1.0-preview'
    label: 'https://github.com/openvm-org/openvm/releases/tag/v2.1.0-preview'
tags:
  - cve.org
epss: 0.00396
epssPercentile: 0.34036
ingestedAt: '2026-11-05T21:36:00.701Z'
---

## Overview

OpenVM is a performant and modular zkVM framework built for customization and extensibility. Before 1.7.0 in the 1.x line and in affected 2.0 and 2.1 prereleases, `MemoryMerkleAir` does not forbid Merkle expansion rows at `parent_height` = 0 or below while `expand_direction` != 0. A malicious prover can fabricate a subtree below a memory leaf and swap digests inside that subtree to change the committed memory root without a corresponding memory operation. The fraudulent rows still balance against the Merkle and compression buses and require no memory-bus operation for the changed leaf. Because the memory Merkle root binds VM memory state across continuation segment boundaries, this affects the soundness of OpenVM proofs using persistent memory. This issue is fixed in versions 1.7.0, 2.0.0-rc.3 and 2.1.0-preview.

## Affected

- `openvm < 1.7.0`
- `openvm >= 2.0.0-alpha, < 2.0.0-rc.3`
- `openvm >= 2.1.0-dev.0, < 2.1.0-preview`

## Remediation

Refer to the linked advisories for vendor-supplied fixes and affected version ranges.