Bitcoin Developer Denies Involvement in Adding Bitcoin Inscriptions as Cybersecurity Risk

Controversy Surrounds Bitcoin Inscriptions on U.S. Vulnerability Database

Bitcoin core developer Luke Dashjr has denied playing any part in adding Bitcoin inscriptions as a cybersecurity risk on the United States National Vulnerability Database’s (NVD) Common Vulnerabilities and Exposure (CVE) list. Dashjr courted controversy in a Dec. 6 post claiming that inscriptions exploit a Bitcoin Core vulnerability to "spam the blockchain." Some observers pointed to Dashjr when Bitcoin inscriptions appeared on the U.S. vulnerability database as part of the CVE list on Dec. 9.

Developer Clarifies His Position

However, despite being an outspoken Bitcoin critic, Dashjr told Cointelegraph that he had no role in adding inscriptions to the vulnerability database’s CVE list. The CVE list is designed so that any developer can lodge a vulnerability and is typically listed as long as the CVE Assignment Team deems it important for public awareness.

Severity Score Assigned to Inscriptions

On Dec. 11, the NVD updated the listing by assigning Inscriptions a base severity score of "5.3 Medium." A medium score refers to a vulnerability where exploitation provides "very limited" access to a network or denial of service attacks that are quite difficult to execute.

Debate Continues on the Nature of Bitcoin Inscriptions

The debate around the nature of Bitcoin inscriptions continues to rage across social media. While some claim that inscriptions are "spamming the network," others argue that they are crucial to the next major wave of adoption and revenue generation for the Bitcoin network. The Bitcoin network has seen increased congestion over the past few months due to a wider craze for inscriptions and token minting.

According to mempool.space, there are more than 275,000 unconfirmed transactions, and average medium-priority transaction costs have increased. If the so-called Inscriptions bug is patched, it could potentially restrict future inscriptions on the network.