ChainBleedv0.1 · open intel
← back to feed·PRIVATE-KEY2023-05-25 · 3y ago
Incident · SLOWMIST

Trezor

RDP downgrade attack
Estimated loss
VERDICT —OUT OF SCOPE
Root cause is private-key / signer compromise — the on-chain contract behaved exactly as written. No pre-deployment source audit or bytecode review reaches the key-custody perimeter; this is operational-security territory (HSM/MPC hygiene, key rotation, hot-wallet isolation). Bytecode would show nothing wrong.
▰ METHOD
PRIVATE KEY
PRIVATE-KEY
Root cause

Root-cause analysis not yet published. The incident description below contains all currently available signal — review the attack transaction directly for definitive forensics.

Forensic narrative

According to The Block, cybersecurity firm Unciphered claims it was able to hack into hardware-encrypted wallets powered by Trezor T models. In a YouTube demo, Unciphered showed exploiting the wallet vulnerability to extract the mnemonic private key from the wallet, saying the attack is only feasible if the attacker has physical access to the hardware wallet. Trezor CTO Tomáš Sušánka responded: "This appears to be a vulnerability called an RDP downgrade attack, which requires extremely sophisticated technical knowledge and advanced equipment. Even with the above conditions, Trezor can pass a powerful passphrase, making RDP downgrade attacks ineffective.” Trezor added that they have taken the important step of developing a new secure element for hardware wallets with their sister company Tropic Square to solve future problems. Attack method (per SlowMist): RDP downgrade attack. Reported loss: -.

Primary source
https://www.theblock.co/post/232085/cybersecurity-firm-claims-it-hacked-private-key-from-a-trezor-t-hardware-wallet
Sourced from
slowmist
Technical record
chain
protocol
Trezor
bug_class
private-key
date_occurred
2023-05-25
loss_usd
source_id
sm:trezor::2023-05-25
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