pNetwork

Hacked

Infrastructure · ✝ 2021

A spoofed event log convinced the bridge to release.

pNetwork was a cross-chain bridge protocol enabling wrapped assets like pBTC. In September 2021 an attacker exploited a log-spoofing flaw in its BSC bridge, draining roughly $13M worth of Bitcoin.

Peak: ~$13M stolen
Cause: Hacked
Year of death: 2021

☠️ Cause of death

The bridge accepted a spoofed event log as proof of a deposit, releasing wrapped assets without a genuine underlying lock.

📓 Lessons left behind

—Bridges must rigorously verify event authenticity, not just presence.
—Cross-chain proofs are only as strong as their weakest validator.
—Wrapped-asset bridges are top targets for spoofing attacks.

🌱 The idea that survived

Verifiable bridge proofs

Reinforced rigorous event and proof validation in cross-chain bridge designs.

#bridge#infrastructure#log-spoof#bsc