TLDR Tech / Crypto
Aztec Connect's Abandoned Smart Contract Exploited for $2.1M
A June 15 exploit drained approximately $2.1 million from Aztec Connect, a DeFi protocol deprecated in March 2023 whose immutable smart contracts continued holding user assets. BlockSec attributed the breach to a ZK proof verification mismatch where the verification system and Ethereum settlement logic interpreted the same transaction list differently, allowing the attacker to generate unbacked balances and execute seven withdrawals across ETH, DAI, and wrapped staked ETH. Aztec Labs confirmed it holds no admin keys and cannot pause or upgrade the contract, making any post-exploit remediation impossible.
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