DogeReaper: 69% of Dogecoin Nodes Crashed

DogeReaper- Dogecoin Security Flaw Causes Network Outage, 69% Nodes Down

DogeReaper– On December 12, Andreas Kohl, co-founder of the Bitcoin sidechain Sequentia, claimed responsibility for exploiting a critical vulnerability in the Dogecoin network, which led to the crash of 69% of its active nodes. According to Kohl, he used an old laptop in El Salvador to carry out the attack.

The Impact: Dogecoin Network Sees Major Node Failures

Before the vulnerability was exploited, Dogecoin had 647 active nodes. However, data from Blockchair shows that by the time of the attack, only 315 nodes were still operational. Kohl explained that he leveraged a vulnerability discovered by researcher Tobias Ruck to carry out the attack.

DogeReaper Vulnerability: The “Death Note” of Dogecoin

The vulnerability, which Kohl used to cause the node crashes, is known as “DogeReaper.” This issue was first publicly disclosed on December 4 by the social media account “Department Of DOGE Efficiency.” According to the account, the DogeReaper vulnerability functions like a “Death Note,” referencing the Japanese manga and anime where writing someone’s name in a notebook causes them to die.

In the context of Dogecoin, the vulnerability allows anyone to remotely cause a Dogecoin node to crash by writing the node’s address. This action leads to a “segmentation fault,” a type of error where a program tries to access restricted memory, causing it to stop and crash. The Dogecoin network is vulnerable to this attack because its nodes are publicly accessible.

Potential for Major Disruption: Could Dogecoin Have Been Taken Down?

The account that first revealed the vulnerability warned that it could have led to a total collapse of the Dogecoin network if exploited by a malicious actor. They explained, If a malicious actor would’ve found this bug instead of us, he could have stopped the Dogecoin network for at least a few days, with no transactions or blocks.

While the vulnerability had the potential for significant disruption, the account also mentioned that Coinbase, upon evaluating the issue, deemed the severity low and rewarded Tobias Ruck with $200 for discovering it.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Cryptocurrencies and stocks, particularly in micro-cap companies, are subject to significant volatility and risk. Please conduct thorough research before making any investment decisions.