MetaMask security scare pushes Ethereum validator exits to a nine-month high
MetaMask is pulling thousands of Ethereum validators after a security breach redirected rewards, creating a network-wide backlog for stakers trying to exit. Related Asset Ethereum #2 ETH · $2,681.26 24-hour change: down 0.01% Loading price history… 24H Down 0.01% 7D Down 0.04% 30D Up 9.42% Onchain security researcher Kaden said about 17,000 MetaMask-operated validators holding roughly 523,000 ETH were proactively exited after an analysis found that transaction-fee rewards from 18 of 19 validators that proposed blocks had been diverted to an address funded through Tornado Cash, an Ethereum-based privacy protocol that allows crypto transactions to be mixed and anonymized. The attacker appears to have captured only about 0.36 ETH, according to Kaden. The bigger concern is how the attacker gained enough access to alter fee recipients and whether that access extended to validator signing keys, which could trigger slashable behavior. Related Product MetaMask A crypto wallet withdrawal keys. That separation would prevent an attacker with only validator-level access from withdrawing the underlying stake, but it would not eliminate the possibility of penalties if signing keys were compromised and misused. Kaden said 821 potentially affected validators had not yet exited, including three among those whose fee rewards were allegedly diverted. It remains unclear why they are
