-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA512 0xCERT Security Advisory 0xCERT-2026-0251 ============================================================ Advisory-ID: 0xCERT-2026-0251 Severity: Critical Published: 2026-10-14T00:00:00.000Z Updated: 2026-10-17T07:23:32.583Z Chains: Other / Multi-chain URL: https://www.0xcert.com/advisory/0xCERT-2026-0251 Title: Pirate Chain transaction-validation flaw exploited to mint about 39.8M ARRR (about 20% of supply) Summary - ------- On 2026-10-14, an attacker exploited a Pirate Chain (ARRR) validation flaw to mint about 39.8M ARRR; SlowMist puts the loss at about $10.7M. Users are asked not to move funds, and exchanges and pools to pause ARRR operations, while a rollback is considered. Details - ------- Summary Pirate Chain (ARRR) disclosed that an attacker exploited a transaction-validation flaw on 2026-10-14. The flaw let them create about 39.8 million ARRR, roughly 20% of supply at the time. Per the reporting below, the project attributes the flaw to two validation failures: a bypassed issuance check and incorrect interpretation of output scripts. The minted coins entered the Sapling shielded pool, so the project says their later movement cannot be fully traced. Incident - - Victim: Pirate Chain (ARRR) network - - Date (UTC): 2026-10-14 - - Amount: about 39.8M ARRR minted without authorization (per Pirate Chain, as reported by The Defiant, Crypto Briefing and KuCoin News). SlowMist's Hacked database records the loss as about $10.7M. - - Attack type: consensus/transaction-validation vulnerability (unauthorized minting) - - Crypto Briefing links the flaw to the Ironwood network upgrade activated on 2026-10-03. Other sources do not confirm this. Impact An attacker inflated the ARRR supply by about 20%. The project reports no evidence that its dPoW notarization keys or its shielded-transaction cryptography were compromised. dPoW notarization was suspended as a precaution. Crypto Briefing reports a proposal to revert the chain to its state as of 20:00 UTC on 2026-10-14, which would discard blocks produced after the exploit window. Treat this as a proposal until the project confirms it. Recommended actions - - ARRR holders: do not move funds until the project confirms recovery is complete. Coins received after about 20:00 UTC on 2026-10-14 may be reversed if the proposed rollback goes ahead. - - Exchanges, custodians and mining pools: pause ARRR deposits, withdrawals and mining as the project requested. Credit deposits only after the post-recovery chain state is confirmed. - - Node operators: follow Pirate Chain's official channels for patched releases and rollback instructions, and verify any binary against the project's official repository. - - Beware of follow-on phishing: ignore unofficial "refund", "recovery" or "claim" links and DMs. Indicators None published. The minted coins went to the shielded pool, and no primary source has named attacker addresses. Source & attribution This 0xCERT advisory summarises Pirate Chain's disclosure (https://x.com/PirateChain/status/2110774266123767871) as recorded by SlowMist Hacked (https://hacked.slowmist.io/) and reported by The Defiant (https://thedefiant.io/news/hacks/pirate-chain-says-exploit-created-39-8-million-arrr) and Crypto Briefing (https://cryptobriefing.com/pirate-chain-exploit-arrr-rollback/). Details may change; refer to Pirate Chain's own channels for the authoritative record. References - ---------- - - https://x.com/PirateChain/status/2110774266123767871 - - https://hacked.slowmist.io/ - - https://thedefiant.io/news/hacks/pirate-chain-says-exploit-created-39-8-million-arrr - - https://cryptobriefing.com/pirate-chain-exploit-arrr-rollback/ - - https://www.kucoin.com/news/flash/pirate-chain-discloses-progress-in-exploit-investigation-39-8m-arrr-illegally-minted - - https://www.blockchainbreaches.com/en/breaches/pirate-chain-2026 Verify with the 0xCERT OpenPGP key: https://www.0xcert.com/pgp.asc Fingerprint: 5F94 3ED1 1E50 CF31 2128 C493 CCC7 D9EC 9415 723D -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- wrsEARYKAG0FgmroJWAJEDe9Tbcr+ZxrRRQAAAAAABwAIHNhbHRAbm90YXRp b25zLm9wZW5wZ3Bqcy5vcmdAM1cRkyh1YKXAzvT2+ooCCL52T+uC3q7hbVnF l9BH0hYhBGCkkFZbJcT5QWu27ze9Tbcr+ZxrAACvGQEAuQ8CwTghX/gdPPo0 tkRFyGCrRdozEhH9qhjwMMYqTCEBAMfTkxkIPxEh1fjxMpMiRwUqaAuWRj13 9a60e8lCcRwH =OvFy -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----