MANTRA Chain stays offline after exploit as Aug. 21 restart hinges on patch test

MANTRA Chain remained halted on Aug. 21 after the team said an attacker exploited a vulnerability in an upstream dependency. Transactions, transfers, and staking are unavailable while the mainnet is paused.

MANTRA identified the vulnerable software only as an upstream dependency. In its official incident record, the team said it was tracing fund movements, working with exchange partners, and continuing to assess the complete scope.

The incident record shows MANTRA first froze endpoints and transactions while reviewing the root cause and impact. It later attributed the precautionary halt to an attacker exploiting the upstream dependency, then announced the patched release and testnet testing, with the mainnet remaining offline throughout those updates.

The project's latest update said user funds were unaffected by the halt itself and that a full network state snapshot was taken before the restart process began. That assurance is limited to the network pause, which prevents transactions from being processed. The asset impact of the attacker's activity remains unconfirmed.

Patch testing controls the restart

MANTRA said patched release v8.4.0 addresses the underlying vulnerability and is undergoing testing and due diligence on the DuKong testnet. The project's GitHub release confirms the version and includes a mainnet upgrade handler.

Testing on DuKong is the gate before rolling out the same software to mainnet. MANTRA said it was prioritizing a careful, verified rollout and instructed validators to keep their mainnet nodes offline until it announces a coordinated restart.

The coordination requirement prevents individual node operators from bringing mainnet service back independently. Validators have to wait for MANTRA's restart announcement so the patched network can return through the wider validator set together.

The team was targeting a restart later on Aug. 21, subject to testing completing cleanly. Mainnet can return only after the patch clears testing and the wider validator set is ready for the coordinated upgrade.

MANTRA outlined a three-step restart plan after halting mainnet, with a patch under test and validator coordination still underway.

For users, the halt means ordinary onchain activity cannot proceed. Assets cannot move on MANTRA Chain, staking operations are unavailable, and deposits and withdrawals for the token remained paused on affected venues, according to earlier incident updates. MANTRA said users didn't need to take action while the chain remained offline.

A restart announcement would resolve the immediate operational freeze, while MANTRA's assessment of fund movements and the incident's complete asset impact remains a separate issue to watch.

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