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Low 35 Bitcoin

ipc: Expose an RPC interface over the -ipcbind socket

Public commit record

What the developer wrote

Authored by Ryan Ofsky

65/100 · Adequate
ipc: Expose an RPC interface over the -ipcbind socket

This allows `bitcoin-cli` to connect to the node via IPC instead TCP to execute
RPC methods in an upcoming commit.
✓ Specific, descriptive subject✓ Names a concrete action or component✓ Provides an explanatory body
The short version

What changed, and why it matters

This commit adds a new way for local programs to talk to Bitcoin Core: instead of connecting over a regular network port, they can connect through a Unix socket file using a feature called -ipcbind. The commit itself is a building block for a later change that will let bitcoin-cli use this socket. The code exposes the same RPC commands that already exist, but over the local socket. The commit also updates the help text to warn that any local process that can reach the socket gets unauthenticated RPC access, so the socket file's permissions matter.

Recommended action

Treat this as a normal feature commit with security-relevant configuration implications. Review the default socket path and permissions created by -ipcbind, ensure the documentation clearly warns users about unauthenticated local access, and verify that follow-up commits (especially bitcoin-cli IPC support) enforce least-privilege socket permissions and do not expose the socket in unsafe directories.

Security signals we found

01

New IPC RPC interface bypasses HTTP/TCP listener and any HTTP-layer authentication when accessed over the -ipcbind Unix socket

02

Help text acknowledges 'unauthenticated RPC access' for local processes that can access the socket

03

RpcImpl::executeRpc forwards to ExecuteHTTPRPC with a user-supplied authUser string, relying on caller-side trust model for IPC

04

No visible authorization check inside RpcImpl; access control is delegated to filesystem permissions on the Unix socket

05

Change is a feature addition, not a patch for a reported vulnerability

Risk score

Why this scored 35/100

Our methodology →
Potential impact 8/30
Exploitability 7/25
Stealth signal 6/15
Affected reach 5/15
Confidence 6/10
Evidence quality 3/5
Human-validated context

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