Hacker Discovers Crucial Flaw in $DOGE, Crashes 69% of Network Nodes
Dogecoin Network Got Hit by a 'Death Note' Flaw Causing Over Half of its Node Crashing And Highlighting Critical Vulnerability in The System
On December 12, a known vulnerability, “DogeReaper,” compromised the Dogecoin blockchain, rendering most network nodes inactive.
Andreas Kohl, co-founder of Bitcoin sidechain Sequentia, revealed that he had successfully crashed 69% of the Dogecoin network. Using an old laptop in El Salvador, Kohl executed the hack targeting a crucial vulnerability previously discovered by another researcher named Tobias Ruck.
$Doge Exploited Vulnerability
In a tweet on his X account, Kohl revealed that he had used the vulnerability to crash Dogecoin’s outdated network nodes.
Kohl exploited a vulnerability previously publicly disclosed on X. People compare the “DogeReaper” bug to the infamous Japanese anime “Death Note.”
In the fictional Death Note universe, writing someone’s name in a notebook causes their death. Similarly, the “DogeReaper” exploit allows anyone to crash any Dogecoin node remotely simply by targeting its address.
When the vulnerability is exploited, it causes a segmentation fault. This is a critical error that occurs when a program attempts to access restricted memory. To ensure safety, the operating system then terminates the program, resulting in a node crash.
If a black hatter had found this bug first, they could have the network entirely halted for several days, preventing all transactions and blocks until the blockchain resets completely.
Dogecoin Impact And Recovery
Although the network’s decentralization and stability remain intact following the hack, it has underscored pressing issues for Dogecoin.
Many argue that cryptocurrency networks, including Dogecoin, must implement stronger safeguards to prevent similar vulnerabilities from being exploited again.
Fortunately, most of the inactive nodes have resumed operation after upgrading to a patched version. Nonetheless, the network remains at reduced capacity. Dogecoin initially had 647 active nodes, however after the exploit, the number of operational nodes went down sharply to just 205. At the time of writing, the network has recovered slightly with about 315 nodes currently active albeit less than half of its total previous active nodes.
Researcher Tobias Ruck, who uncovered the flaw, reported it to Coinbase and received a measly $200 reward for his efforts. However, the widespread node failure caused by the attack reveals the flaw’s true catastrophic potential.
Although the breach did not completely halt the network, it shows how weaknesses in outdated software can threaten blockchain systems. It also emphasizes the importance of constantly updating blockchain systems to avoid falling into exploits and hacks such as these.
