Electrum "Attempt to read past end of buffer" Error

[iodji]

Hello,

I'm trying to send some bitcoins to another wallet with Electrum, but each time I tried sending them, I get the error

"Attempt to read past end of buffer"

Sometimes, I get the similar error "unpack_form requires at least 8 bytes".

I don't understand where it comes from, and it's very frustrating as I can receive bitcoin but not send any. I'm on Mac OS X, if that makes any difference. I tried disactivating my firewall, without success.

Do you have any solutions?

Regards,

[OmegaStarScream]

Which version are you using? I've searched a little bit and apparently, this got fixed in version 3.2.0  (read the release note highlighted)

[TryNinja]

Along with the above, you should ALWAYS be using the latest version of Electrum. Recently, there was a major phishing scam that resulted in more than $1m stolen from users. Hackers managed to exploit a vulnerability on Electrum that let them show fake “update” messages on Electrum wallets connected to their servers. So they made the users download the infected fake update from a fake website.

This was fixed in the latest versions and now Electrum warns the users when there is a new (legit) update abailable.

P.S: ONLY DOWNLOAD ELECTRUM FROM ELECTRUM.ORG; that’s the ONLY real website.

[iodji]

Hey, thanks for your quick answer! I'm using 3.3.4, and I downloaded it from the actual website. Do you think I should try to reinstall? Should I make some sort of backup before?

[sheenshane]

Hey, thanks for your quick answer! I'm using 3.3.4, and I downloaded it from the actual website. Do you think I should try to reinstall? Should I make some sort of backup before?

We're just the same version used.
Yes, always remember and kept in mind the password and you must save in a piece of paper the 12 words of recovery seeds phrase. If you have that all you can reinstall your Electrum wallet and download the new version.

Remember this:

P.S: ONLY DOWNLOAD ELECTRUM FROM ELECTRUM.ORG; that’s the ONLY real website.

[Artemis3]

Hey, thanks for your quick answer! I'm using 3.3.4, and I downloaded it from the actual website. Do you think I should try to reinstall? Should I make some sort of backup before?

We're just the same version used.
Yes, always remember and kept in mind the password and you must save in a piece of paper the 12 words of recovery seeds phrase. If you have that all you can reinstall your Electrum wallet and download the new version.

Remember this:

P.S: ONLY DOWNLOAD ELECTRUM FROM ELECTRUM.ORG; that’s the ONLY real website.

And this: How to verify your Electrum [Windows, Linux, Mac]

install homebrew from http://brew.sh/

Code:

brew install gnupg
gpg --recv-keys 2BD5824B7F9470E6
wget https://download.electrum.org/3.3.4/Electrum-3.3.4.tar.gz
wget https://download.electrum.org/3.3.4/Electrum-3.3.4.tar.gz.asc
gpg --verify Electrum-3.3.4.tar.gz.asc Electrum-3.3.4.tar.gz

gpg: Signature made Fri Jan 25 19:51:07 2019 UTC using RSA key ID 7F9470E6
gpg: Good signature from "Thomas Voegtlin (https://electrum.org) <thomasv@electrum.org>"

Everyone should get in the habit of verifying the file they download with gpg. Its not impossible for a malware to change the hosts file on the system to redirect electrum.org to a phishing site...

[odolvlobo]

Try posting here: Bitcoin Forum > Bitcoin > Development & Technical Discussion > Alternative clients > Electrum

[joniboini]

Looks like a serialization error. Just a wild guess, it seems your Electrum can't decode/encode script (not expert at the script)[1]. Can you give more details about the transaction you're about to make? Or provide the step to reproduce the error? It's weird that this error comes up in the latest version.

[1] https://github.com/spesmilo/electrum/blob/master/electrum/transaction.py

[Coyster]

It's obvious you're using the most updated version,and you should be having any issues such as this except probably the fault is from your own end as regards the transaction you're trying to complete,maybe a detailed explanation will help us decide what the actual error is and modes of solving it in the best way possible

[Tamilson]

Ok this gave me a quick heart attack and checked my electrum version to see if it's updated.
I have my electrum downloaded from google playstore and not directly from electrum.org, check if it's on their github, and now I'm relieved.

You guys are awesome. Appreciated well.