LNbits Urges All Operators to Shut Down Their Bitcoin Lightning Wallet Servers Amid Attacks
AI-summarised brief · reviewed before publication
LNbits, an open‑source Bitcoin Lightning wallet platform, warned all operators to shut down their servers after a series of attacks exploited a vulnerability in the software. One operator reported that an attacker used an unknown extension to siphon 2,285,545 satoshis (≈0.023 BTC) from his instance before the warning was issued. The project issued an initial advisory at 12:33 UTC, asking users to disable the Paywall add‑on, and followed with a full shutdown notice 80 minutes later. No patches had been released by 09:00 UTC, though developer Ben Arc said fixes would be merged within 24‑48 hours. LNbits also disabled its own cloud service, promising restoration by 17:20 UTC. The breach left users unable to access funds pending a fix until the security updates are deployed.
💡 Why It Matters
- · The incident proves that even lightweight, community‑maintained wallet stacks can become lucrative targets, forcing operators to treat open‑source code with the same rigor as commercial services.