---
title: "Unverified contributions in the chain"
description: "The final parameters verify, but individual contributions were never checked against their predecessors."
type: "failure-mode"
url: "https://zkpick.com/ceremony/failure-modes/unverified-contributions-in-the-chain/"
section: "04 Running or reusing a trusted setup"
authors:
  - "MarketComp"
publisher: "MarketComp"
version: "1.3"
updated: "2026-09-12"
license: "CC-BY-4.0"
json: "https://zkpick.com/data/ceremony/failure-modes/unverified-contributions-in-the-chain.json"
---

*By MarketComp. Updated 2026-09-12. Version 1.3. CC BY 4.0.*

# Unverified contributions in the chain

The final parameters verify, but individual contributions were never checked against their predecessors. A contribution that was malformed or replayed silently reduces the honest-participant count.

**Mitigation:** Verify each contribution on receipt and re-verify the full chain before publication. Publish the verification output alongside the transcript.