Cardano Hit By Temporary Chain Split After Malformed Transaction

The Cardano blockchain suffered a temporary chain split on Friday after a malformed delegation transaction triggered a validation flaw.

The validation mismatch was triggered by a user who publicly apologized on X, stating that he was responsible for the bad transaction. 

Cardano Network Disrupted By Malformed Transaction 

Cardano’s blockchain temporarily split into two ledgers on Friday after a malformed transaction triggered a software flaw. The split resulted in several issues for Cardano users, prompting a public apology by the user responsible for the erroneous transaction. Cardano’s governance organization, Intersect, stated in an incident report that the split occurred when a malformed transaction passed validation on newer node versions, but was rejected by nodes still running older node versions. Intersect wrote in its report, 

“This exploited a bug in an underlying software library that was not trapped by validation code. The execution of this transaction caused a divergence in the blockchain, effectively splitting the network into two distinct chains: one containing the ‘poisoned’ transaction and a ‘healthy’ chain without it.”

All Cardano Users Impacted 

Following the incident, Cardano co-founder Charles Hoskinson stated that it was a premeditated attack from a disgruntled staking pool operator who was actively looking to harm the brand and reputation of Cardano’s developer, Input Output Global. Hoskinson added that all Cardano users were impacted and that the ecosystem’s native token fell by over 6% following the incident. 

The incident report stated that the mismatch caused node operators to build blocks on different branches of the chain until the patched node software was deployed. Developers and service providers also coordinated an emergency response, while operators were urged to rejoin the main chain. Intersect also stated that the wallet responsible for the malformed transformation had been identified, while Hoskinson added that it will take weeks for normal operations to resume. 

“Forensic analysis suggests links to a participant from the Incentivized Testnet (ITN) era. As this incident constitutes a potential cyberattack on a digital network, relevant authorities, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, are being engaged to investigate.”

User Responsible Apologizes 

Hours after the incident, an X user posted that they were responsible for the faulty transaction that triggered the chain split. The user apologized, stating, 

“Sorry, Cardano folks, it was me who endangered the network with my careless action yesterday evening.”

The user described their attempt as a personal challenge to reproduce the “bad transaction,” stating that they relied on AI-generated instructions. 

“I've felt awful as soon as I realized the scale of what I've caused. I know there's nothing I can do to make up for all the pain and stress I've caused over the past X hours. Difficult to quantify the negligence on my behalf. I am sorry, I truly am. I didn't have evil intentions.”

The user also stated that they did not short or sell ADA or coordinate with anyone else, nor did they act for financial gain. Intersect confirmed that no user funds were lost, and retail wallets were not impacted because they were running node components that handled the malformed transaction correctly.

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice