Hackers Exploiting Create2 to Bypass Wallet Security Alerts

Recently, hackers have used the Ethereum network’s CREATE2 opcode to bypass wallet security alarms in certain wallets. 

Using Create2’s pre-calculation feature, the Drainers can produce unique addresses for every malicious signature. After the victim signs the malicious signature, these addresses are deployed.

According to Scam Sniffer’s report, the drainer has stolen about $60 million from around 99,000 victims in the last six months.

Drainer Generate Temporary New Addresses For Each Malicious Signature

The CREATE2 opcode allows users to predict the address at which a contract will be deployed. This creates numerous opportunities to enhance scalability and user onboarding.

The original Create opcode created new addresses depending on the creator’s address and nonce; Create2 permits address calculation before a contract deployment.

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By utilizing this function, cybercriminals have discovered a method to bypass security checks concerning investor wallets. According to Scam Sniffer, hackers can generate temporary new addresses with malicious signatures using CREATE2.

Particularly, the Drainer creates a contract at that address and transfers the user’s assets when the victim signs the signature.

According to reports, a group has been stealing about $3 million in assets from 11 victims nonstop since August by using Create2, with one victim potentially losing up to $1.6 million.

“Attackers can use the address calculation method of create2 to offline pre-generate a large number of addresses and then extract addresses similar to the targeted ones to initiate fake transfers for address poisoning phishing”, ScamSniffer reports.

Final Thoughts

These days, Create2 is employed in several phishing scams. It is possible to generate many addresses for address-poisoning phishing attacks and create temporary addresses to bypass wallet security detection by using Create2, which can pre-calculate addresses.

Attackers have been able to operate covertly and steal huge amounts of money from innocent victims because of this tactic. 

These attacks further highlight the cryptocurrency ecosystem’s ongoing need for improved security measures.

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