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Value Overflow Bug

security
consensus

A critical arithmetic error where transaction or supply calculations wrap around and create invalid amounts.

1
definition

A value overflow bug occurs when software fails to handle very large numbers safely, causing arithmetic to wrap around or pass invalid supply checks. In consensus code, this can accidentally create coins or accept impossible transactions.

2
prevention

Consensus implementations prevent overflow with explicit range checks, safe integer types, test vectors, code review, and agreement that invalid monetary amounts must never be accepted by nodes.

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All terms and definitions may update as the Cryptionary improves.