Menu
The Chia Plot
  • Blog
  • How-To
  • About
  • Contact
  • Security
  • Discord
The Chia Plot
Hackerman

OpenSea NFT attack and Chia’s UTXO coin model

Posted on February 20, 2022February 20, 2022 by Chris Dupres

The Internet is currently on fire because of what is being described as an “OpenSea exploit”, but was really an OpenSea NFT attack, where people are losing their NFTs off the platform to an unknown attacker. As of writing there have been dozens of victims to this attack, but contrary to initial reports it does not appear that the OpenSea smart contract was exploited, but rather a traditional phishing attack that collected signed transactions ahead of time.

He starts sending emails with phising websites. They tell you to sign a message to login/migrate to the new Opensea smart contract

Instead you are signing a private sale (0 eth) of your NFTs to the hacker

🧵 2/4 pic.twitter.com/ZTASua8Mzs

— isotile 🦇🔊 (@isotile) February 20, 2022
Small twitter thread on Opensea hack

So it appears that the anatomy of the attack is a boring old IT security issue and not a fancy smart contract exploit. Because it was known that OpenSea was in the middle of a systems migration the adversary was able to use a traditional phishing campaign to convince users that they needed to sign a 0 cost transaction as part of the OpenSea migration. In reality this transaction was delegating access to a malicious smart contract written by the attacker(s). Once users had pre-signed this delegated authorization the attacker(s) were able to create 0 Ether purchase order for the NFTs held in the compromised wallet. With patience the attacker(s) were able to sit on that pre-signed authorization until they had a few more ready and then move on them all at once. Yesterday.

I know you’re all worried. We’re running an all hands on deck investigation, but I want to take a minute to share the facts as I see them:

— Devin Finzer (dfinzer.eth) (@dfinzer) February 20, 2022
CEO of OpenSea on the issue

Like most cyber attacks there is going to be a lot of victim blaming here. People love to blame the victims of information security attacks because it makes us feel smarter. “I wasn’t a victim because I’m smart, so therefore you were a victim because you weren’t smart enough” is a very common attitude in my industry. But its wrong. While people are absolutely responsible for their own actions, and you really shouldn’t click links in emails and then authenticate with anything, username or web wallet, that doesn’t mean that anyone is responsible for the hack other than the attacker. That’s important to remember.

That shouldn’t stop you from protecting yourself though. Never open links that look phishy. If you have access to significant funds you should use an email service with very good security protection and possibly a real enterprise security filtering solution like ProofPoint, Cisco’s IronPort or Microsoft’s Advanced Email Threat Protection (if you’re on Office 365). Using a protonmail account is great for privacy, but lousy for the other parts of security since they very deliberately don’t scan your mail with advanced tools. This is why threat modelling is important. To most people they are far greater risk of issues from spam or malicious activity than they are from government surveillance. That’s not universally true, and I love protonmail, but its mostly true for most people. And most importantly do not sign anything with your wallet without double-checking. Ever. And practice good wallet hygiene with multiple levels of wallets.

Now, why do I bring up the UTXO model in the headline? Well, the way this hack worked seems to be that the attacker used delegated account access to the Ethereum accounts that contained the NFTs in order to call the legitimate OpenSea smart contracts and initiate the transfers for 0 Ether. You can read about it in the thread below.

It seems however that all executions of this function are delegated however, as we can see references to 'HowToCall.DelegateCall' set up within the same jumbled array. Context – If Alice invokes Bob who does DELEGATECALL to Charlie, the msg.sender in the DELEGATECALL is Alice pic.twitter.com/vAUiR2my9Y

— Massey (@J_Massey__) February 20, 2022
Technical code analysis of OpenSea NFT hack

Chia does not have accounts. Chia has coins that are signed by private keys. You cannot delegate access to an entire wallet to someone else, the functionality simply does not exist. You can, in theory, delegate access to a specific coin to someone else, although I don’t believe anyone has written that yet, but that will only expose a single coin (and might be more obvious). With a UTXO coin model cryptocurrency you might not be able to enable some of the same functionality as easily as you can with Ethereum’s account model access, and it certainly can be a pain in the ass when using a lot of coins, but it is more secure as even the contents of a wallet subdivided with some level of security barrier.

A similar theoretical attack on Chia would have, at most, cost users a single NFT that they had signed for and it would have been a specific one which would likely have caused more warning bells to go off since it would be weird to pre-sign access to your NFTs. The reason this worked is that in the Ethereum ecosystem people are used to delegating access to their wallet for execution of smart contracts. You do it a lot with NFTs. And it is a terrible security practice.

Because we do not yet have a real NFT standard from Chia Network is it impossible to guarantee that their format will allow for a better operating NFT marketplace, but at the same time with how the currency is architected it seems highly unlikely it could be worse. From conversations with the team they are developing the standard precisely with these kinds of Ethereum shortcomings in mind and using the advantages of hindsight to construct an NFT smart coin that is far less susceptible to these kinds of attack. Also, not having to sign away your entire wallet helps a lot too.

Related

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Advertisement

Recent Posts

  • Crypto is burning down – Chia seems fine
  • Chia CAT upgrade fiasco part 2 – Was I wrong?
  • WTF just happened?? CAT1 to CAT2 “upgrade”
  • The era of the Chia NFT is upon us
  • Chia Blockchain 1.4.0 released – NFTs and DIDs oh my
  • Discussion
  • Facts About Farmers
  • How-To
  • Information
  • News
  • pools
  • Security
  • Trademark
  • Trading
  • Uncategorized

Dark Mode Switch

©2021 The Chia Plot - Donate XCH / MRMT / SBX @ xch1p4440d6zwu9ryta2vx073lq2ge3s29d37kskz6t34jp085e8srjqnk0gcr
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie SettingsAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement1 yearThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Advertisement".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
JSESSIONIDsessionUsed by sites written in JSP. General purpose platform session cookies that are used to maintain users' state across page requests.
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
CookieDurationDescription
na_id1 year 1 monthThis cookie is set by Addthis.com to enable sharing of links on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter
na_rn1 monthThis cookie is used to recognize the visitor upon re-entry. This cookie allows to collect information on user behaviour and allows sharing function provided by Addthis.com
na_sc_e1 monthThis cookie is used to recognize the visitor upon re-entry. This cookie allows to collect information on user behaviour and allows sharing function provided by Addthis.com
na_sr1 monthThis cookie is set by Addthis.com. This cookie is used for sharing of links on social media platforms.
na_srp1 minuteThis cookie is used to recognize the visitor upon re-entry. This cookie allows to collect information on user behaviour and allows sharing function provided by Addthis.com
na_tc1 year 1 monthThis cookie is set by the provider Addthis. This cookie is used for social media sharing tracking service.
ouid1 year 1 monthThe cookie is set by Addthis which enables the content of the website to be shared across different networking and social sharing websites.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
CookieDurationDescription
d3 monthsThis cookie tracks anonymous information on how visitors use the website.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
CookieDurationDescription
__gads1 year 24 daysThis cookie is set by Google and stored under the name dounleclick.com. This cookie is used to track how many times users see a particular advert which helps in measuring the success of the campaign and calculate the revenue generated by the campaign. These cookies can only be read from the domain that it is set on so it will not track any data while browsing through another sites.
_ga2 yearsThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to calculate visitor, session, campaign data and keep track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookies store information anonymously and assign a randomly generated number to identify unique visitors.
_gat_gtag_UA_199099757_11 minuteThis cookie is set by Google and is used to distinguish users.
_gid1 dayThis cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to store information of how visitors use a website and helps in creating an analytics report of how the website is doing. The data collected including the number visitors, the source where they have come from, and the pages visted in an anonymous form.
CONSENT16 years 4 months 5 daysThese cookies are set via embedded youtube-videos. They register anonymous statistical data on for example how many times the video is displayed and what settings are used for playback.No sensitive data is collected unless you log in to your google account, in that case your choices are linked with your account, for example if you click “like” on a video.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
CookieDurationDescription
advanced_ads_browser_width1 monthThis cookie is set by Advanced ads plugin.This cookie is used to measure and store the user browser width for adverts.
anj3 monthsNo description available.
CMID1 yearThe cookie is set by CasaleMedia. The cookie is used to collect information about the usage behavior for targeted advertising.
CMPRO3 monthsThis cookie is set by Casalemedia and is used for targeted advertisement purposes.
CMPS3 monthsThis cookie is set by Casalemedia and is used for targeted advertisement purposes.
CMRUM31 yearThis cookie is set by Casalemedia and is used for targeted advertisement purposes.
CMST1 dayThe cookie is set by CasaleMedia. The cookie is used to collect information about the usage behavior for targeted advertising.
DSID1 hourThis cookie is setup by doubleclick.net. This cookie is used by Google to make advertising more engaging to users and are stored under doubleclick.net. It contains an encrypted unique ID.
i1 yearThe purpose of the cookie is not known yet.
IDE1 year 24 daysUsed by Google DoubleClick and stores information about how the user uses the website and any other advertisement before visiting the website. This is used to present users with ads that are relevant to them according to the user profile.
KADUSERCOOKIE3 monthsThe cookie is set by pubmatic.com for identifying the visitors' website or device from which they visit PubMatic's partners' website.
KTPCACOOKIE1 dayThis cookie is set by pubmatic.com for the purpose of checking if third-party cookies are enabled on the user's website.
mc1 year 1 monthThis cookie is associated with Quantserve to track anonymously how a user interact with the website.
test_cookie15 minutesThis cookie is set by doubleclick.net. The purpose of the cookie is to determine if the user's browser supports cookies.
uid1 year 1 monthThis cookie is used to measure the number and behavior of the visitors to the website anonymously. The data includes the number of visits, average duration of the visit on the website, pages visited, etc. for the purpose of better understanding user preferences for targeted advertisments.
uuid3 monthsTo optimize ad relevance by collecting visitor data from multiple websites such as what pages have been loaded.
uuid23 monthsThis cookies is set by AppNexus. The cookies stores information that helps in distinguishing between devices and browsers. This information us used to select advertisements served by the platform and assess the performance of the advertisement and attribute payment for those advertisements.
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE5 months 27 daysThis cookie is set by Youtube. Used to track the information of the embedded YouTube videos on a website.
YSCsessionThis cookies is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos.
yt-remote-connected-devicesneverThese cookies are set via embedded youtube-videos.
yt-remote-device-idneverThese cookies are set via embedded youtube-videos.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
CookieDurationDescription
__gpi1 year 24 daysNo description
adImpCountpastNo description
C3UID5 yearsNo description available.
C3UID-9245 yearsNo description
fc5 months 27 daysNo description available.
pfpastNo description
pxs5 months 27 daysNo description available.
SAVE & ACCEPT
Powered by CookieYes Logo