Zcash Activates Ironwood Upgrade to Plug Vulnerability

The Zcash network has undergone a significant upgrade called Ironwood, designed to address a critical vulnerability in the Orchard pool. The issue was discovered on May 29 and had existed since the pool's launch in May 2022.

Developers released an emergency patch in June, but the private nature of Orchard made it impossible to prove whether the vulnerability had been exploited.

The Ironwood upgrade introduces a new boundary check that ensures no more ZEC can leave the old pool than was deposited. This 'turnstile' mechanism verifies supply integrity without accessing private transaction data.