Comprehensive Security Update from Shiba Inu Core Developer
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Security Breach on Shibarium PoS Bridge: An In-Depth Update
Shiba Inu’s core developer, Kaal Dhairya, has released a thorough security update in response to the security breach on September 12, which compromised validator signing power on the Shibarium PoS bridge. This breach enabled a malicious state/exit, resulting in multiple asset withdrawals. Published on September 21, 2025, the update provides a detailed account of the incident, the actions taken, and a proposed phased restoration plan pending independent reviews.
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Shiba Inu Core Developer Shares Insights
In a candid preface, Dhairya emphasizes his role as a collaborator rather than a sole leader, aligning himself with the core ethos of the Shiba Inu project. He states, “I am not the lead and never aspired to be; I am simply a builder committed to SHIB’s values.” He acknowledges the complex nature of the attack and expresses concern over the unrealistic expectations placed on individual contributors to maintain system integrity without broader structural support.
Incident Analysis and Immediate Actions
The breach occurred at 18:44 UTC on September 12, when unauthorized validator signing power was used to push a malicious state/exit through the PoS bridge. The attack involved short-lived stake amplification combined with malicious checkpoint/exit proofs to authorize withdrawals. Following the incident, on-chain activities linked to the attacker included selling parts of ETH, SHIB, and ROAR. While the team is currently withholding the evolving wallet graph to prevent further risks, they assure that a comprehensive technical account will be released once safe to do so.
Immediate countermeasures include limiting specific bridge operations to prevent new unauthorized exits, enhancing contract pathways covering deposits, withdrawals, claims, and rewards, and applying defensive controls against misuse of delegated stakes. The team successfully recovered and secured at-risk BONE at the stake-manager level, with short-term BONE stakes under the attacker’s control remaining immobilized by protocol interventions.
Security Enhancements and Future Plans
Key security measures include rotating validator signers, migrating contract control to multi-party hardware custody, and maintaining live monitoring and automated alerts in collaboration with exchanges, external security researchers, incident-response firms, and relevant authorities. The update also addresses frequently asked questions about validator compromise and operational accountability. Validator signing keys were primarily stored in AWS KMS, with infrequent usage on developer machines. Potential intrusion vectors include developer machine compromise, cloud KMS compromise, exposure during AWS-to-GCP migration, or a supply chain attack via npm.
Highlighting the need for decentralization, the update notes that “10 of 12 validators” signed the malicious state. It commits to improving validator decentralization, enhancing key-rotation policies, tightening custody, improving disclosures, and raising due diligence standards for sensitive access.
Roadmap for Restoration and Transparency
The roadmap includes four gated phases: “Containment,” with restricted bridge functionality and live monitoring; “Hardening,” in partnership with Hexens, focusing on signer/validator hygiene and policy-level controls; “Safe Restoration,” pending independent review sign-offs, mitigations, and successful test drills; and a comprehensive technical postmortem leading to a community-reviewed remediation path for affected users and liquidity.
The team refrains from specifying timelines to prevent adversaries from exploiting them, stating that updates will be communicated via official channels. Shiba Inu token holders are advised to beware of scams, disregard unverified recovery/claim portals, and expect ongoing bridge restrictions until safety is ensured. Queries about bridging back to Ethereum, timing of bridge resumption, validator rotation, and full audits are all met with a commitment to prioritize security.
On fund recovery and potential compensation, the team is evaluating options and will publish proposals for community review once deemed viable and secure. The developer concludes by reaffirming the priority of protecting users, securing the network, containing the attacker, and restoring services safely. A technical postmortem and remediation proposal will follow once it is safe for full disclosure.
Current Market Status
As of this writing, Shiba Inu trades at $0.00001207.
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