Onyx Protocol Suffers $3.8 Million NFT Liquidation Contract Exploit → Security

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Briefing

The Onyx Protocol experienced a significant security incident resulting in a $3.8 million loss due to an exploit within its NFT Liquidation contract. This compromise enabled an attacker to drain the protocol’s vUSD stablecoin reserves, subsequently causing the stablecoin to depeg. The incident highlights the persistent risks associated with complex contract interactions and the critical need for rigorous auditing of all protocol components.

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Context

Prior to this incident, DeFi protocols, particularly those forking established codebases like Compound Finance v2, faced known risks from vulnerabilities in freshly-launched or empty lending markets susceptible to price manipulation. While initially suspected to be a variant of this common bug, the Onyx exploit ultimately leveraged a distinct flaw in a specialized contract, underscoring the expanding attack surface beyond generic lending logic.

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Analysis

The attack vector specifically targeted Onyx Protocol’s NFT Liquidation contract. This contract, intended to manage liquidations of collateralized NFTs, contained a vulnerability that permitted unauthorized draining of the vUSD stablecoin. The attacker exploited this flaw to systematically extract vUSD, which was then sold off on the open market, leading to its depeg and a direct financial loss of $3.8 million from the protocol’s reserves.

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Parameters

Protocol Targeted → Onyx Protocol
Attack Vector → NFT Liquidation Contract Exploit
Financial Impact → $3.8 Million
Affected Asset → vUSD Stablecoin
Consequence → Stablecoin Depeg
Initial Suspected Vulnerability → Compound Finance v2 Price Manipulation Bug

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Outlook

Users of Onyx Protocol should monitor official communications for updates on recovery and compensation plans. This incident reinforces the necessity for all DeFi protocols, especially those integrating novel functionalities like NFT collateralization, to undergo comprehensive, independent security audits. Future best practices will likely emphasize multi-layered security assessments that extend beyond core lending logic to all interconnected smart contracts, mitigating contagion risk across the ecosystem.

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Verdict

This exploit underscores that even seemingly peripheral smart contract components can harbor critical vulnerabilities, demanding a holistic and continuous security posture across all integrated DeFi modules.

Signal Acquired from → Protos