How much was lost in the Synthetify hack?

The Synthetify hack resulted in $230K in losses on October 19, 2023.

What attack technique was used in the Synthetify exploit?

The Synthetify exploit utilized Malicious Proposal. 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.

Synthetify Hack

TOTAL LOST $230K

Low Oct 19, 2023 Malicious Proposal solana

Affected Chain solana Incident surface

Recovered - No recovery reported

All-Time Rank #1519 By amount stolen

Year 2023 Incident year

Incident Report

Protocol / Project Synthetify

Date of Incident October 19, 2023

Affected Chain(s) solana

Attack Technique Malicious Proposal

Classification Governance

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 malicious proposal and Rust/Anchor program internals and the Solana account model

Capital Required Seed capital to cover Solana network fees and initial position setup

On-Chain Access Ability to interact with solana Solana programs and deploy a custom exploit program or signer account

Protocol Analysis Identification of the exploitable vulnerability in Synthetify's program logic - root cause: governance

Execution Speed Precise transaction ordering and timing to exploit the vulnerability within a single Solana transaction (atomic across instructions)

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 Malicious Proposal audit checklist and test coverage

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

Verify all logic paths related to Malicious Proposal 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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Threat Assessment

Severity Level

LOW

Attack Vector Malicious Proposal
Root Cause Governance
Year 2023

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Incident Report

What the Attacker Needed to Succeed

What Auditors Should Check

Related Hacks - Malicious Proposal

Learn to Prevent the Next Synthetify