Cork Protocol Theft Costs It $12M - Unchained

2025-05-29 06:49:19

Abstract generation in progress

DeFi platform Cork Protocol has suffered a major security breach due to a smart contract exploit, resulting in the theft of around $12 million of digital assets.

Blockchain security firm SlowMist first flagged the exploit, which was later confirmed by Cork Protocol founder Phil Fogel on X.

Cork Protocol has paused all smart contracts and trading on the platform as a precautionary measure as it investigates the breach.

This story is an excerpt from the Unchained Daily newsletter

To get these updates in your email for free, subscribe here.

The attacker appears to have targeted the wstETH:weETH trading pair, draining about 3,761 Wrapped Staked Ether (wstETH) from the protocol’s liquidity pool in just 17 minutes, according to analysis by blockchain security firm Cyvers.

The stolen wstETH was then rapidly converted into ETH, making the funds difficult to trace.

“Fake tokens were used to manipulate the exchange rate which led to the exploit,” said CD Security founder and smart contract researcher Dimitar Dimitrov. “Unfortunately, 4 audits (2 of which were contests) were not enough to discover the vulnerability.”

This page may contain third-party content, which is provided for information purposes only (not representations/warranties) and should not be considered as an endorsement of its views by Gate, nor as financial or professional advice. See Disclaimer for details.