The getblock RPC method in zebra-rpc before 11.0.0, used by the Zcash Foundations Zebra node, panics on verbosity 2 for a side-chain block because the blocks -1 confirmations sentinel is converted to u32 with .expect(), aborting the process. Remote unauthenticated attackers, directly or through lightwalletd, can repeat this call to keep the node in a crash loop.
Weakness
The product contains an assert() or similar statement that can be triggered by an attacker, which leads to an application exit or other behavior that is more severe than necessary.
Extended Description
While assertion is good for catching logic errors and reducing the chances of reaching more serious vulnerability conditions, it can still lead to a denial of service. For example, if a server handles multiple simultaneous connections, and an assert() occurs in one single connection that causes all other connections to be dropped, this is a reachable assertion that leads to a denial of service.