USPD Exploiter’s 78-Day Silence After Proxy Takeover Raises Alarms

The crypto underworld holds its breath as a major exploit goes quiet.

For over two months, the entity behind the USPD attack has operated in eerie silence. No boasts, no demands, no movement—just the chilling aftermath of a successful proxy takeover. The 78-day radio silence isn't a sign of retreat; it's a strategic pause that has the entire DeFi community on edge.

The Ghost in the Machine

Proxy takeovers represent one of the most sophisticated attack vectors in DeFi. By hijacking a protocol's administrative controls, attackers don't just steal assets—they become the protocol. This isn't a smash-and-grab; it's a quiet occupation. The exploiter doesn't need to make noise when they already control the levers.

The Waiting Game

Seventy-eight days of silence speaks volumes in an ecosystem built on transparency. While some might interpret this as the attacker lying low, seasoned analysts see it differently. This isn't hiding—it's waiting. Waiting for attention to shift, for security to relax, for the perfect market conditions to cash out without crashing the very assets they stole. It's the ultimate test of patience in an impatient industry.

The Unanswered Questions

What happens during those silent weeks? Forensic analysis suggests multiple possibilities: laundering infrastructure being established, cross-chain bridges being tested, or perhaps even negotiation channels being opened through backdoor communications. The absence of movement on-chain doesn't mean absence of activity—it means the activity has moved to places blockchain analysts can't see.

A Systemic Wake-Up Call

This incident exposes the fundamental tension in decentralized governance: the proxies designed to make protocols upgradeable also make them vulnerable. Every administrative key represents a potential single point of failure. The industry's rush to innovate has outpaced its ability to secure the very mechanisms that enable that innovation.

As the crypto markets continue their volatile dance—because what's finance without a little unnecessary drama?—this silent standoff serves as a stark reminder. The most dangerous threats aren't the loud ones making headlines; they're the quiet ones who've already won and are just waiting for everyone else to realize it.

24-second window leads to 78-day breach

As per Rekt’s analysis, the exploit hinged on USPD deploying its proxy and initializing it in separate transactions. Within 24 seconds of proxy deployment, the attacker front-ran the pending initialization, seizing admin privileges and embedding a “shadow” implementation.

The protocol functioned flawlessly for 78 days. Audits from Nethermind and Resonance confirmed the code was sound, but auditors never saw the malicious proxy injected during deployment. On December 4, the attacker struck: upgrading the proxy to malicious logic, minting 98 million USPD, draining 232 stETH, and converting roughly $300,000 into USDC.

Remaining funds, about $1 million, continue to sit in the attacker’s wallet, untouched.

The CPIMP vulnerability strikes again

The attack used CPIMP (Clandestine Proxy in the Middle of Proxy), a vulnerability security team patched across dozens of protocols during a July emergency effort. Firms like Dedaub, Venn Security, and SEAL 911 coordinated a 36-hour sweep that saved more than $10 million in assets.

According to Rekt’s breakdown, however, USPD has never applied the recommended safeguards. While the audits certifying its logic were valid, the lack of atomic deployment left the front door open. Researchers argue the breach was preventable, as the same attack vector had compromised Kinto earlier this year.

7/ To the Attacker:
We are willing to view this as a whitehat rescue.

If you return the funds (minus a standard 10% bug bounty), we will cease all law enforcement actions and consider this matter resolved.

Contact us immediately on any channel you wish, or simply return 90% of…

USPD offered a 10% bounty for fund recovery, but December 8 activity shows some stolen ETH already routed through Tornado Cash.

Protocol’s bounce back

USPD plans to launch a rebuilt V2 in Q2 2026, introduce recovery pools funded by protocol revenue, and issue claim tokens to affected users. The team has also opened a private channel for the 230 impacted addresses.

Despite the exploit, the USPD stablecoin has maintained its dollar peg, though liquidity is down significantly. The protocol insists that no flaws existed in its smart contract logic, only in the handling of deployment.

The incident is poised to become a case study in DeFi risk management: audits alone are not enough, deployment must be secured, and known vulnerabilities cannot be ignored.

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