All vulnerabilities
CVE-2026-72711

lean4: Lean 4 before 4.32.2 Kernel Accepts Opaque Declaration With an Unbound Free Variable

leanprover lean4
CVSS
6.8Medium
ExploitationPublic exploit codeCISA's assessment says proof of concept code is public, assessed 24 Aug 2026. Not in the KEV catalogCISA via CVE List
Exploit odds (EPSS)0.18%Chance of exploitation activity in the next 30 days, higher than 7% of CVEs. Scored 25 Oct 2026FIRST EPSS
Fixed in4.32.2Fixed versionCVE List
Published24 Aug 2026Updated 26 Oct 2026CVE List

What fixes it

A fixed version on one release line is not the upgrade target for every line. Check your exact version and any vendor backports.

Reports 2

2 outlets mention it. Reports are not confirmation; each links to its source.

Description

The Lean 4 kernel does not check that the body of an opaque declaration is closed. environment::add_opaque omits the check_no_metavar_no_fvar call that the definition and theorem paths perform, so a value containing a free variable that is absent from the local context is not rejected outright. A metaprogram can first cause the kernel to create a temporary local of type False and record its type in the type checker's inference cache, then restore the local context while that cache entry persists on the same type checker instance, and finally submit an opaque declaration whose value is the now-unbound variable. The cache lookup answers before the branch that would test membership of the local context, so the kernel infers the cached type and admits an opaque constant of type False, from which any proposition follows. The declaration is accepted through the ordinary checked path at maximum kernel checking, without sorry, unsafeCast, debug.skipKernelTC, addDeclWithoutChecking, foreign code or a modified .olean file, and the result carries no axioms. Fixed in 4.32.2 by adding the missing closure check.

Text from CVE List

Affected versions 1

  • lean4affected: all versions before 4.32.2CVE List

References 5