UXLINK Multi-Signature Wallet Compromised via DelegateCall Vulnerability ∞ Security

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Briefing

On September 22, 2025, the UXLINK Web3 social infrastructure project suffered a significant security incident involving its multi-signature wallet. Attackers exploited a delegateCall vulnerability, gaining unauthorized administrative control and subsequently draining approximately $11.3 million in various assets, including stablecoins and wrapped Bitcoin. The breach also led to the unauthorized minting of 2 billion UXLINK tokens, causing a 70% token price collapse and erasing $70 million in market capitalization. This event underscores the critical risks associated with smart contract design flaws and inadequate access controls within decentralized protocols.

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Context

Prior to this incident, the prevailing attack surface in DeFi often included vulnerabilities in cross-chain bridges, oracle manipulation, and reentrancy exploits. While multi-signature wallets are generally considered a robust security measure, this exploit highlights a persistent class of vulnerability related to their implementation ∞ specifically, weak access controls and governance within the underlying smart contract logic. The absence of fundamental safeguards, such as a hardcoded supply cap or emergency stop mechanisms, exacerbated the impact of the compromise.

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Analysis

The incident’s technical mechanics centered on a delegateCall vulnerability within UXLINK’s multi-signature wallet smart contract. This critical flaw allowed the attacker to bypass existing security protocols, effectively removing legitimate administrators and installing their own address as the wallet’s owner. With elevated privileges, the threat actor initiated immediate asset drainage, transferring $4.5 million in stablecoins and 3.7 WBTC.

Concurrently, the attacker leveraged the compromised administrative control to mint 2 billion UXLINK tokens without authorization, demonstrating a severe lack of supply cap enforcement and weak access control mechanisms in the smart contract design. The success of this attack was rooted in the ability to manipulate the contract’s administrative functions, highlighting a fundamental design flaw rather than a simple code bug.

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Parameters

Protocol Targeted ∞ UXLINK
Attack Vector ∞ DelegateCall Vulnerability (Multi-signature Wallet Compromise)
Initial Financial Impact ∞ $11.3 Million
Assets Drained ∞ $4.5M Stablecoins, 3.7 WBTC, ETH, USDC
Unauthorized Token Minting ∞ 2 Billion UXLINK Tokens
Market Cap Loss ∞ $70 Million
Attacker’s Subsequent Loss ∞ $48 Million to Phishing Scam
Date of Exploit ∞ September 22, 2025

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Outlook

Immediate mitigation steps for users include exercising extreme caution with UXLINK tokens and monitoring official announcements regarding the emergency token swap. This incident will likely establish new security best practices emphasizing rigorous, multi-layered audits of multi-signature wallet implementations, particularly focusing on delegateCall usage and access control logic. Protocols must implement robust supply caps, timelocks, and emergency stop mechanisms as standard. The event also underscores the contagion risk for similar protocols with centralized administrative functions or poorly audited multi-signature wallet designs, necessitating a proactive review of their security posture.

The UXLINK delegateCall exploit serves as a stark reminder that even seemingly secure multi-signature architectures remain vulnerable to fundamental smart contract design flaws, demanding continuous, rigorous security validation across the digital asset landscape.

Signal Acquired from ∞ ainvest.com