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Cardano Rejoins a Single Chain After Malformed Transaction Split as FBI Probe Begins

Investigators are examining a wallet tied to a long‑standing deserialization bug.

Overview

  • Intersect said a crafted malformed delegation transaction on November 20 exploited a cryptographic deserialization flaw first observed on the Preview testnet in 2022.
  • Differences between node versions let newer software accept the poisoned transaction while older nodes rejected it, temporarily partitioning the mainnet.
  • Engineers issued a hotfix and urged upgrades to cardano-node version 10.5.3, restoring convergence without compromising user funds.
  • An X user calling himself “Homer J” publicly admitted to submitting the transaction and apologized, as Intersect engaged authorities including the FBI.
  • Charles Hoskinson alleged a premeditated attack by a disgruntled stake-pool operator active in the Fake Fred Discord, while exchanges paused transfers and resynchronization continues.