- It is called “Rab13s”.
- Halborn, a blockchain security company, believes that Rab13s poses a risk of over $25 billion for cryptocurrencies.
- The team recommended that affected networks contact them directly.
Halborn, a blockchain security company, has discovered vulnerabilities in Dogecoin and over 280 other networks.
Halborn found “several critical and exploitable” vulnerabilities in Dogecoin’s open-source code. The Dogecoin team fixed the code, but further investigation revealed that the same “Rab13s” vulnerabilities were present in over 280 networks, including Litecoin and Zcash. The company also believes that this vulnerability puts over $25 billion worth of digital assets at risk.
🧵👇…
— Halborn (@HalbornSecurity) March 13, 2023
Did Dogecoin Suffer a 51% Attack?
The Rab13s vulnerability allows malicious actors to carry out a 51% attack on a blockchain. The Halborn team found malicious code within the peer-to-peer (p2p) communication mechanism of the networks, which increases the likelihood of an attack due to its simplicity.
Rob Behnke, CEO of Halborn, says, “With this vulnerability, an attacker could cause each node to shut down by sending specially crafted malicious consensus messages, ultimately leading to 51% attacks and other serious issues for the network.”
A 51% attack on a cryptocurrency blockchain occurs when a group of miners controls over 50% of the mining hash rate on a network. Because miners have at least 51% of the blockchain, they have the power to change the network.
How is Halborn Dealing with This Issue?
The company shared technical details with stakeholders of the networks so that they can release necessary patches for the community and miners. Technical information will not be made public further, so it is inaccessible to malicious actors. Halborn also recommended that affected networks contact them directly.
