Crypto News
Raydium confirmed an exploit that drained $1.34 million through unauthorized liquidity removal from its legacy AMM V3 program — a set of pools that were phased out back in 2021. The attack vector involved fake LP tokens used to interact with the deprecated contract, which was never fully decommissioned at the smart-contract level.
Why it matters
The exploit targets infrastructure that Raydium itself had retired from its UI years ago, meaning no current users were exposed through normal product interaction. However, the fact that a dormant, deprecated contract held accessible liquidity — and that an attacker found a way to drain it — raises a broader question about how DeFi protocols handle end-of-life contract management. Leaving legacy code on-chain without fully revoking permissions or draining residual funds is a known attack surface, and this incident is a pointed reminder of that risk across the Solana DeFi ecosystem.
Market impact
The $1.34 million loss is contained relative to Raydium's total liquidity, and the protocol has clarified that active users and current pools are unaffected. Still, the news adds to a persistent narrative around smart-contract security on Solana-based AMMs. Traders and LPs on Raydium should monitor official channels for any further disclosures about residual legacy contracts, and the broader Solana DeFi space may see renewed scrutiny of deprecated-but-not-destroyed program accounts.
Frequently asked questions
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Are current Raydium users or active liquidity pools at risk from this exploit?
No. Raydium confirmed that only its legacy AMM V3 program — phased out in 2021 — was affected. Current users could not interact with the vulnerable pools through the standard UI, and active pools remain unaffected.
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How did the attacker drain funds from pools that were already deprecated?
The exploit used fake LP tokens to trigger unauthorized liquidity removal directly at the smart-contract level. Because the legacy AMM V3 contract was never fully decommissioned on-chain, it remained accessible outside the UI despite being retired from the product.
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What broader risk does this incident highlight for Solana DeFi protocols?
It underscores that deprecated smart contracts left on-chain with residual liquidity and unrevoced permissions remain live attack surfaces. Protocols that phase out products through the UI without draining or formally disabling the underlying contracts face ongoing exposure.
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