The Christmas Drain: How a Backdoor in Trust Wallet v2.68 Stole $7M
Blockchain investigator ZachXBT reported on December 25 that, over the preceding hours, numerous Trust Wallet users had experienced unauthorized withdrawals. Affected individuals claimed their assets were drained from their wallets without any form of confirmation. ZachXBT noted that complaints began surfacing shortly after the release of an update to the browser extension. Preliminary estimates, based on a list of addresses linked to the thefts, suggest that attackers siphoned more than $6 million from hundreds of users.
Shortly thereafter, Trust Wallet confirmed a security incident affecting version 2.68 of its browser extension. The company urged users of that version to disable the extension immediately and upgrade to version 2.69 via the official Chrome Web Store. Trust Wallet emphasized that users of the mobile application and other browser extension versions were not impacted.
In a follow-up statement, the company cautioned that anyone who has not yet updated to version 2.69 should refrain from opening the browser extension until the update is installed, in order to safeguard their wallets and prevent further issues.
Binance founder and Trust Wallet owner Changpeng Zhao (CZ) wrote on X that, as of the morning of December 26, estimated losses had reached $7 million. He confirmed that the company would fully compensate all affected users. “Trust Wallet will cover the losses. User funds are safe. We appreciate your understanding for any inconvenience caused,” Zhao stated, adding that the team is still investigating how hackers managed to distribute a malicious version of the extension.
Users are advised to review their recent transactions, revoke unnecessary permissions, and avoid signing new transactions until the situation is fully clarified. Those who suspect their wallets have been compromised are encouraged to transfer any remaining funds to new wallets created with fresh seed phrases.
Support Our Threat Intelligence
If you find our technology report and cybersecurity news helpful, consider supporting our work.
Buy Me a Coffee
PayPal
