Security vulnerabilities found in Bitcoin's Lightning Network were exploited

Bitcoin • September 10, 2019, 1:10PM EDT
UPDATED: September 10, 2019, 1:27PM EDT
The Block

As Bitcoin Lighting Network users await details regarding a security vulnerability found on the network late last month, developers are now warning that the vulnerability has been exploited. According to Olaoluwa Osuntokun, CTO at Lightning Labs, and ACINQ, a Lighting Network development firm, there are "confirmed instances of the vulnerability being exploited in the wild."

Users are advised to upgrade the following affected Lightning Node versions:

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- LND nodes version 0.7 and below
- c-lightning nodes version 0.7 and below
- eclair nodes version 0.3 and below

On August 30, 2019, Rusty Russell, an Australian software programmer and Bitcoin Lightning coder, tweeted out a warning that security issues had been discovered on the Lightning Network that could cause various projects to lose funds.  The Lightning Network is an experimental second-layer scaling solution built on top of the Bitcoin Network for quicker fund transfers.

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Steven Zheng is a researcher for The Block. He joined The Block in August 2018. Steven graduated from St. John’s University with a degree in economics. Previously, he covered blockchain and crypto at Radicle, a startup analytics firm. He also had brief stints at Cheddar, a media startup, and Bowery Capital, a venture capital firm. He owns bitcoin. Follow Steven on Twitter at: @Dogetoshi

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