The Dogecoin network has suffered an exploit, with the attacker exploiting a significant vulnerability on December 12. The attack, which brought down 69% of the network’s nodes has raised questions in the crypto industry. Industry participants are worried about the security issues in the crypto and their ability to prevent potential attacks in the future.
According to reports, Bitcoin side-chain Sequentia co-founder Andreas Kohl was responsible for the attack. Kohl revealed on his X handle that he carried out the act on his old ThinkPad in a rural area in El Salvador. Blockchair data revealed that Dogecoin’s active nodes dropped from 647 to 315 after the breach occurred.
Andreas Kohl exploits Dogecoin’s DogeReaper vulnerability
According to Kohl’s explanation, he exploited a vulnerability that had been identified by researcher Tobias Ruck. An account on X called the Department of DOGE Awareness first created an awareness about the issue on December 4. The account shared details about the DogeReaper vulnerability and how it could be exploited to crash nodes remotely. According to the DOGE account on X, an attacker could use a segmentation fault to target a Dogecoin node address, causing it to go offline.
Segmentation faults occur when a program tries to access a memory it is not permitted to use. It causes the operating system to stop abruptly, causing the nodes to go offline. The account warned the public about the effects of such an event, noting that Dogecoin nodes are publicly accessible. It highlighted that a bad actor may trigger the fault, causing all the nodes to go offline, which would halt transaction flow, stop block generation, and cause severe backlogs.
The account mentioned the effect of a hacker getting their hands on the bug. “If a malicious actor would’ve found this bug instead of us, they could have stopped the Dogecoin network for at least a few days, with no transactions or blocks,” the account wrote. While Kohl’s action did not cause severe damage, the drop in active nodes raised concerns about the network’s decentralization. The network has begun efforts to restore node functionality and patch issues.
Dogecoin maintains its price despite node issues
The vulnerability attack is coming at a volatile period for Dogecoin. The asset sustained a 208% surge in November before following it up with a tight range trade between $0.35 and $0.48 over the last few weeks. According to Coinmarketcap, the token is trading around $0.41. This week, the asset dropped 12%, hinting at bearish momentum after dropping below its trend line. However, analysts have fingered the likelihood of a rise.
Analysis from data analytics platform Santiment has bolstered the bullish momentum claims. The platform said the mean dollar invested age, a metric that measures the average age of coins in circulation, has dropped by 31%. This means that coins that were sent to wallets for keeps are now on the move. Santiment, sharing its findings on social media, highlighted that the move means that investors are convinced about moving back into the Dogecoin market despite the current drop.