<p>If you give Bitcoin Core a fully populated data directory, it will use it without any validation.</p>

<p>However, if you only give it the blocks/ subdirectory, it will fully validate it to recreate the chainstate directory, exactly as if it were received over the network.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-05-08T07:43:13.357Z
What do you make of [this statement](https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1169146.msg12847216#msg12847216)? Is there a risk of an RCE with a 3rd party copy of the data dir?
Abdussamad
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-04-13T18:45:20.813Z
2019-04-13T18:45:20.813Z
Pieter Wuille
<p>If you were to obtain a copy of the bitcoin blockchain, i.e. a copy of someone's data dir excluding his wallet files on a removable drive or other storage medium, could bitcoin core verify that or not? This would be useful in developing countries where the initial blockchain download is hard to do but keeping up with the chain is easy.</p>

<bitcoin-core><synchronization><reindex>
Can bitcoin core verify a third party blockchain download?
Abdussamad
# Can bitcoin core verify a third party blockchain download?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-04-13)

If you were to obtain a copy of the bitcoin blockchain, i.e. a copy of someone's data dir excluding his wallet files on a removable drive or other storage medium, could bitcoin core verify that or not? This would be useful in developing countries where the initial blockchain download is hard to do but keeping up with the chain is easy.

**Tags:** bitcoin-core, synchronization, reindex


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2019-04-13. Score: 7 | Accepted answer

If you give Bitcoin Core a fully populated data directory, it will use it without any validation.

However, if you only give it the blocks/ subdirectory, it will fully validate it to recreate the chainstate directory, exactly as if it were received over the network.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: What do you make of [this statement](https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=1169146.msg12847216#msg12847216)? Is there a risk of an RCE with a 3rd party copy of the data dir?  

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