MANTRA Chain is back online after developers resolved a critical vulnerability in its Cosmos-EVM module that caused a major disruption lasting approximately 30 hours.
Block production recommenced at 5:30 a.m. UTC on August 22, following the deployment of software version 8.4.0, which not only fixed the identified flaw but also introduced enhanced security measures.
The incident unfolded late on August 20 when MANTRA detected an attack exploiting a weakness in an upstream software dependency. In response, developers halted the mainnet entirely to contain the threat.
This emergency shutdown resulted in a freeze of all transactions, staking operations, and bridge activities, with several exchanges pausing deposits and withdrawals linked to the network.
The entire infrastructure, including public endpoints and validator services, went offline during this critical period.
Details of the Exploit
MANTRA traced the vulnerability back to its Cosmos-EVM module, which impacted two wallet addresses before the team managed to secure the network. Notably, these addresses were identified as MANTRA-managed wallets, and the project confirmed that user, exchange, or partner funds were not compromised.
“No user funds were exploited,” MANTRA stated in a post-incident update.
While the nature of the activity in the two affected wallets has not been disclosed—nor has the amount involved—a comprehensive technical report is anticipated in the coming days.
Prior to the network restart, developers captured a complete snapshot of the blockchain at block 17,449,398, which marked the point of interruption. The team thoroughly reviewed potential attack vectors before developing and testing the patch.
Version 8.4.0 underwent rigorous testing on the DuKong testnet and within an internal environment that mirrored the mainnet’s conditions. Following the successful test, validators were instructed to proceed with the restart.
MANTRA-operated validators were upgraded first, followed by partner validators, node operators, RPC services, and archive nodes. Throughout this process, user balances remained intact, and there was no rollback of the blockchain.
Market Response
During the outage, the MANTRA token experienced a significant decline, plummeting from around $0.005060 to a record low of $0.004126—an 18.5% drop—just before the network’s last recorded block on August 20 at approximately 11:10 p.m. UTC.
Trading volume surged nearly 600%, reaching around $24 million in the wake of the incident. MANTRA has not directly linked the price drop to the exploit.
While the mainnet has resumed operations, the DuKong testnet remains offline, with efforts to restore it continuing over the next several days.
A detailed post-incident report addressing the Cosmos-EVM vulnerability and the network’s response is expected to be released shortly.
