canopy-network/canopy · error

invalid bls public key: point at infinity

Error message

invalid bls public key: point at infinity

What it means

Raised in BytesToBLS12381Point when the deserialized G1 point equals the identity (point at infinity). The identity element is not a usable BLS public key because it makes every aggregate signature verify trivially, so bytes encoding infinity are rejected.

Source

Thrown at lib/crypto/bls.go:182

func BytesToBLS12381Public(bz []byte) (PublicKeyI, error) {
	point, err := BytesToBLS12381Point(bz)
	if err != nil {
		return nil, err
	}
	return &BLS12381PublicKey{
		Point:  point,
		scheme: newBLSScheme(),
	}, nil
}

// BytesToBLS12381Point() creates a new G1 point on BLS12-381 curve which is the public key of the pair
func BytesToBLS12381Point(bz []byte) (kyber.Point, error) {
	point := newBLSSuite().G1().Point()
	if err := point.UnmarshalBinary(bz); err != nil {
		return nil, err
	}
	if point.Equal(newBLSSuite().G1().Point().Null()) {
		return nil, errors.New("invalid bls public key: point at infinity")
	}
	return point, nil
}

// Address() returns the short version of the public key
func (b *BLS12381PublicKey) Address() AddressI {
	// hash the public key
	pubHash := Hash(b.Bytes())
	// take the first 20 bytes of the public key
	address := Address(pubHash[:AddressSize])
	// return the result
	return &address
}

// Bytes() returns the protobuf bytes representation of the public key
func (b *BLS12381PublicKey) Bytes() []byte {
	bz, _ := b.MarshalBinary()
	return bz

View on GitHub (pinned to ee8197d91d)

Solutions

1. Reject the offending key at its source: the validator or signer serialized a degenerate key; regenerate it from a proper private key.
2. Validate key material before storing it so infinity-encoded keys never reach consensus logic.
3. If parsing external data (e.g. validator sets), skip or blacklist entries yielding infinity points and log them.

When it happens

Trigger: Thrown at lib/crypto/bls.go:182 when the library encounters an invalid state.

Common situations: See trigger scenarios.

AI-assisted analysis of canopy-network/canopy@ee8197d91d (2026-09-06). Data as JSON: /api/errors/7bbfed3f404ecf44. Report an issue: GitHub.