TheBlock
XRP Ledger developers patched a critical payment-engine bug that could have created about 18 trillion XRP in one transaction, according to a disclosure report. The flaw had been in the code since 2015 and involved missing overflow checks when a payment consumed many order-book offers. There was no evidence it had been exploited on a public network.
Why it matters
An attacker could have created hundreds of accounts, listed tiny token amounts for extraordinarily large XRP sums, then settled every offer in one payment. The arithmetic could wrap to a small number, allowing sellers to receive full value while the buyer paid only a few hundred drops plus the transaction fee. A related balance check would also have failed to block newly created XRP.
Cayden Liao of Veria Labs said the firm's AI agent found the issue and built a working exploit. His estimate put the potential creation at 18 trillion XRP, or 184 times the token's 100 billion launch supply. Ripple paid Veria the program's top $250,000 bounty.
Market impact
RippleX shipped the fix in xrpld version 3.4.1 three days after Veria reported the bug on Sept. 22. More than 80% of validators on the default Unique Node List were running the patched version that day. Unlike normal XRP Ledger amendments, the fix took effect as servers upgraded, avoiding a public release that could have exposed the vulnerability before activation.
The update also patched a separate Batch bug that could have left malformed records and disrupted indexers, explorers, and SDKs, although it offered no on-chain payoff. The incident raises the importance of AI-assisted testing and formal verification for open blockchain infrastructure.
Frequently asked questions
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How much XRP could the vulnerability have created?
Veria Labs estimated that one exploit transaction could have created about 18 trillion XRP, or 184 times the token's 100 billion launch supply.
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How did the XRP Ledger payment bug work?
Missing overflow checks could make very large payment totals wrap to a small number when one transaction consumed many order-book offers.
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Was the XRP Ledger flaw exploited on a public network?
The disclosure report said there was no evidence that the issue had been exploited on any public network.
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Who found the XRP Ledger vulnerability?
Veria Labs said its AI agent found the bug and built a working exploit. Ripple paid the firm the program's top $250,000 bounty.
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What else did the xrpld 3.4.1 update fix?
The update also fixed a separate Batch bug that could have produced malformed records and disrupted off-chain indexers, explorers, and SDKs.
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