Dogecoin network exploited by hackers – crashes 69% of nodes

A significant vulnerability in the Dogecoin network was exploited on December 12. The attack caused 69% of its active nodes to crash. The breach has raised questions about the security of the cryptocurrency’s infrastructure and its resilience to potential future attacks.

Andreas Kohl, co-founder of Bitcoin sidechain Sequentia, revealed he was responsible for the hack on his X account. Kohl stated that he executed the exploit from an “old ThinkPad in rural El Salvador.”

According to Blockchair data, Dogecoin had 647 active nodes before the attack, but the number dropped sharply to 315 following the breach.

Kohl exploited a vulnerability identified by researcher Tobias Ruck to conduct the attack. An X account called “Department Of DOGE Efficiency” first brought the issue to public attention on December 4. The account explained what it called the “DogeReaper” vulnerability, which could reportedly crash Dogecoin nodes remotely.

The “DogeReaper” vulnerability explained 

The “DogeReaper” exploit was likened to the fictional “Death Note” from Japanese manga and anime, where writing a name in a notebook could cause a person’s death. According to the Department Of DOGE Efficiency, the vulnerability worked similarly, allowing an attacker to target a Dogecoin node’s address and cause it to crash via a segmentation fault.

In computing, segmentation faults occur when a program attempts to access memory it isn’t permitted to use. This triggers the operating system to halt the program, resulting in a crash.

The account warned of the catastrophic potential of the vulnerability, noting that Dogecoin nodes are publicly accessible. They suggested that a malicious actor could have exploited the flaw to halt the entire network, disrupting transactions and block generation for several days.

“If a malicious actor would’ve found this bug instead of us, they could have stopped the Dogecoin network for at least a few days, with no transactions or blocks,” the account wrote.

While Kohl’s exploit did not completely halt the blockchain’s operations, the significant reduction in active nodes raises concerns about the network’s decentralization and robustness. Efforts to patch the issue and restore node functionality are ongoing.

Dogecoin price performance 

The security breach comes during a period of market volatility for DOGE. After a 208% surge in early November, the cryptocurrency has been trading within a tight range of $0.35 to $0.48 over the past month. According to Coinmarketcap data, DOGE is trading at $0.41 at press time.

Dogecoin (DOGE) price movement. Source: CoinMarketCap

This week, Dogecoin saw a 12% decline, breaking below an ascending trendline, signaling a potential bearish shift. However, some analysts see a possible rebound.

Crypto analyst Trader Tardigrade highlighted that Dogecoin’s relative strength index (RSI) had reset after hitting overbought levels earlier this year. In March 2024, a similar RSI reset to 50 preceded a significant uptrend, suggesting that a breakout above $0.50 could be imminent.

Further analysis from Santiment, a data analytics platform, pointed to bullish signals for Dogecoin. The platform noted that the “mean dollar invested age,” which tracks the average age of coins in circulation, has decreased by 31% over the past eight weeks.

This trend suggests that previously dormant coins are moving back into circulation, potentially bolstering market activity.

Santiment shared its observations on social media, noting that the renewed activity among dormant coins could indicate growing investor interest in Dogecoin despite the recent downturn.

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