XRP Bridge Flaw Exposed: $200K Stolen in 97-Minute Hack

An XRP bridge linking the XRP Ledger and tx suffered a $200,000 theft after an attacker exploited a software flaw. The attack occurred on August 9 and lasted around 97 minutes before operators halted the bridge.

The attacker found a way to make the bridge record fake XRP deposits that never reached its reserve wallet. The system then issued bridged XRP on the tx network against those false records, allowing the attacker to withdraw real XRP from the reserve.

The drain started at 19:16 UTC when 17 of the bridge's 28 relayers approved each payout because the system showed valid deposits in its internal records. The relayers monitor activity on both chains and authorize transfers when the bridge says a withdrawal is due.