Bitcoin’s Lightning Network has security vulnerabilities that could cause loss of funds

Security vulnerabilities have been discovered in “various” Bitcoin Lightning Network projects that have potential to cause users to lose their cryptocurrency.

Those running Lightning Network nodes have been advised to upgrade their clients as soon as possible, including those related to popular wallet solution Eclair.

At present, exact information is scarce, but the original post shared via a Lightning Network mailing list promises release of “full details” in four weeks.

This method of disclosure is not without precedent. Privacy-focused altcoin Monero has repeatedly released details of dangerous security vulnerabilities in a similarly staggered fashion.

The general idea is give the network enough time to patch security flaws while simultaneously keeping bad actors in the dark, which (hopefully) stops the exploitation of bugs.

Hard Fork has reached out to Rusty Russell, who originally shared the warning, and will update this piece with more information should we hear back.