I believe in Solana👌$SOL

Solana recently released a report revealing a vulnerability in its ZK ElGamal Proof program. This native program verifies the correctness of complex zero-knowledge proofs, ensuring that encrypted balances in accounts and transactions are valid. The bug affected tokens using the Token-2022 standard.

The vulnerability allowed attackers to trick the system. It made the system believe that illegal actions, such as minting unlimited tokens or withdrawing from others’ wallets, were valid. In other words, if left undetected, bad actors could have printed infinite money or stolen digital assets without being noticed.

“This vulnerability only affects Token-22 confidential tokens and allows an attacker to perform unauthorized actions such as minting unlimited tokens or withdrawing tokens from any account,” Solana stated.

Fortunately, Solana quickly fixed the issue. They updated the software and re-tested it with the help of security research teams such as Asymmetric Research, Neodyme, and OtterSec. Most importantly, no reports indicated the vulnerability had been exploited before it was patched.

Why Is the Community Criticizing Solana?

Although Solana acted quickly, its handling of the situation sparked mixed reactions.

A developer named Fede’s intern from LambdaClass defended Solana. He argued that those criticizing the platform didn’t understand the technology. He also claimed that the response would likely have been the same if a similar incident had occurred on Ethereum or Bitcoin.

In 2018, the Bitcoin network experienced a serious inflation bug. Developers from Bitcoin Core had to quietly contact mining pools to fix the issue before informing the public.

Still, many voiced concerns about Solana’s transparency and decentralization.