Drift Protocol Suffers Unauthorized Access in Complex Attack

Drift Protocol has reported an unauthorized access incident involving a sophisticated attack using a durable nonce, according to ChainCatcher. The attacker gained control over the Drift Security Council's management by exploiting pre-signed transactions with durable nonce accounts to delay execution. The investigation indicates that the incident was not due to vulnerabilities in Drift's program or smart contracts, and there is no evidence of mnemonic phrase theft. The attacker obtained access through unauthorized or forged transaction approvals, potentially involving social engineering. As a result, approximately $280 million was extracted from the protocol, affecting all lending, vault deposits, and trading funds. However, DSOL assets not deposited in Drift, including those staked to Drift validators, and insurance fund assets remain unaffected and are being protected. As a precautionary measure, all remaining protocol functions have been frozen, and the multisig has been updated to remove compromised wallets.