How much was lost in the Curve DEX hack?

The Curve DEX hack resulted in $61.7M in losses on July 30, 2023.

What attack technique was used in the Curve DEX exploit?

The Curve DEX exploit utilized Vyper Compiler Bug. Understanding this attack vector is critical for smart contract auditors and developers building secure DeFi protocols.

How can developers prevent similar smart contract attacks?

Preventing smart contract hacks requires a combination of secure coding practices, thorough security audits, and understanding common attack vectors like reentrancy, oracle manipulation, and access control flaws. Smart Contract Hacking (SCH) provides hands-on training to help developers and auditors identify and prevent vulnerabilities before deployment.

Curve DEX Hack

TOTAL LOST $61.7M

High #107 All-Time Jul 30, 2023 Vyper Compiler Bug ethereum

Affected Chain ethereum Incident surface

Recovered - No recovery reported

All-Time Rank #107 By amount stolen

Auditors 1 Prior security audit

Incident Overview

Curve is a decentralized exchange liquidity pool on Ethereum designed for extremely efficient stablecoin trading

Incident Report

Protocol / Project Curve DEX

Date of Incident July 30, 2023

Affected Chain(s) ethereum

Attack Technique Vyper Compiler Bug

Classification Infrastructure

Primary Source View Post-Mortem

Protocol Information

Protocol Type Dexs

Smart Contract Language Vyper

Official Website curve.finance

Protocol Twitter/X @CurveFinance

What the Attacker Needed to Succeed

Understanding the prerequisites for this type of attack helps auditors identify protocols that are most at risk and helps developers build better defenses.

Technical Knowledge Deep understanding of vyper compiler bug and Solidity and EVM internals

Capital Required Seed capital to cover gas and initial position setup

On-Chain Access Ability to interact with ethereum smart contracts and deploy a custom exploit contract

Protocol Analysis Identification of the exploitable vulnerability in Curve DEX's contract logic - root cause: infrastructure

Execution Speed Precise transaction ordering and timing to exploit the vulnerability within a single atomic block

Obfuscation Plan A strategy to launder and move stolen funds - typically through mixers, cross-chain bridges, or decentralized DEX swaps to resist tracing

What Auditors Should Check

Could this have been caught in audit? Likely — with a thorough Vyper Compiler Bug audit checklist and test coverage

Audited by Audit Report 1 — still lost $61.7M. Prior audits don't guarantee safety, especially after post-audit code changes.

If you're auditing a protocol with similar architecture to Curve DEX, these are the critical security checks that could have prevented this incident (July 2023).

Verify all logic paths related to Vyper Compiler Bug are guarded by proper access controls and input validation
Review privileged functions (owner, admin, governance) for potential abuse vectors - centralization risks should be documented and bounded with timelocks or multi-sigs

Master these auditing techniques with hands-on labs and real exploit scenarios in the Smart Contract Hacking course.

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Security Audit History

Audit Report 1 Report

Proof-of-Concept Exploits

1 PoC available

poc-exploits - curve dex

$ Curve Vyper Compiler Bug && Reentrancy

On-Chain Evidence & References

Reference https://hackmd.io/@LlamaRisk/BJzSKHNjn

Sources & References

01
Source 1 https://twitter.com/spreekaway/status/1685669149911990273

Threat Assessment

Severity Level

HIGH

Attack Vector Vyper Compiler Bug
Root Cause Infrastructure
Year 2023

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