Questions tagged [security]
Security issues with the design or implementation of Bitcoin.
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Can punched-in seed phrase on steel plate be read by airport security x-ray?
If I put a steel plate with seed phrase in bag and it goes through TSA's x-ray machines at the airport, am I at risk of them being able to read the words?
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What's the point of Multi Signature Addresses?
When an attacker has access to the private key of the wallet, he can dump the private keys of every address used for the multisign address(es).
So, what's the point of multi sign addresses when there'...
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Why does Miniscript add an extra size check for hash preimage comparisons?
When I input the following miniscript into https://bitcoin.sipa.be/miniscript/:
and(pk(claimant_pk),sha256(H))
I get the following Script:
<claimant_pk> OP_CHECKSIGVERIFY OP_SIZE <20> ...
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Is it safe to install Bitcoin Core using a package manager?
For example, on macOS:
brew install --cask bitcoin-core
Or on Ubuntu:
snap install bitcoin-core
Etc.
In particular, what attack vectors might I be exposing myself to if I choose to install Bitcoin ...
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Should different brands of hardware wallets be used in multisig setups?
Is there genuinely a compelling reason to use different brands of hardware wallets in multisig setups? I am contemplating using a series of Coldcard hardware wallets in a multisig setup but some ...
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What types of transaction malleability exist and which one of them does SegWit solve?
I am little confused about what types of transaction malleability exist in bitcoin and which one of them does SegWit solve.
Here Antoine Poinsot talks about txid malleability and third-party ...
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Why is concatenating scriptPubKeys and scriptSigs unsafe?
Around the 5:00 timestamp in this talk, John Newbery states that running the concatenation of scriptPubKey and scriptSig is unsafe, since it can result in someone using a carefully crafted scriptSig ...
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Is Bitcoin a network protocol or is it just a concept of an encrypted currency?
Today in technology groups they always say that bitcoin is just a currency, a concept of electronic money. But the problem with such a statement for other people is not considering that bitcoin is a ...
user144118
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Can the same set of private keys be used multiple times in a multisig wallet?
Is there any limitation to how many times the same set of private keys can exist within a multisig wallet? For example, could a 3 of 4 multisig wallet be created with two of the four keys being ...
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Taking the existing INPUT and changing the OUTPUT to steal bitcoins. Is this a possible bitcoin theft scenario and how to prevent it?
I'm relatively new to Bitcoin and I'm wondering how Bitcoin defends against the following scenario and if it's even possible.
Before I start with the scenario, just two notes:
1. There is a lot of ...
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What does it mean that the security of Bitcoin public keys and 256-bit ECDSA is 128 bits?
I am reading the Master Bitcoin book and came across the following:
From a security perspective, the amount of entropy actually used for
the production of HD wallets is roughly 128 bits, which equals ...
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Address Reuse and ECDSA Concern
I have a question about address reuse. Admittedly, I'm a little confused on the matter, so please bear with me if the framing of my question doesn't make much sense.
Recently I started using Sparrow ...
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Is 24 words seed safer than 12 words in terms of bruteforcing the private key
Is a 24 words seed more secure than 12 words in terms of brute forcing the private key?
From the following answer I read that a private key is always "just" 128bit even when derived from 24 ...
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Exporting Bitcoin settings to bitcoin.conf?
How do I Export/dump the settings of bitcoin into a .conf file?
I know I can review some of them via bitcoin-qt GUI.
I'm not interested in the GUI settings like font, etc.
I'm interested in exporting ...
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multisig vs singlesig
Due to the Ledger debacle I have purchased a Coldcard hardware wallet. I made this decision partly based on watching the Antonopoulos live stream last week. Until now I have backed up my bitcoin on a ...
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What is the controversy with Ledger's new recovery service?
There has been a lot of controversy recently over Ledger's new recovery service which will shard your seed out to third parties for storage. What is the controversy?
This question was posed by ...
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How could Bitcoin developers handle and resolve severe software vulnerability without drawing public attention?
I am curious about the process Bitcoin developers follow to address and resolve critical software vulnerabilities, such as bugs or flaws, that could be exploited by attackers to disrupt the network or ...
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I don't understand why Wallet keys are only a little over a kilobyte when the transaction signatures are extreme in size [duplicate]
I'm asking this question related to bitcoin security. There's a general consensus that it's nearly impossible for a %51 attack on the bitcoin blockchain which isn't generally considered a risk that ...
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Is it safe to connect my HW wallet to a computer which is connected to the internet?
Cold wallets are those that have never been connected to the internet, and are safer than hot ones, which have been exposed to it.
If I connect my HW wallet to a computer which is connected to the ...
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Is there any known 80-bit collision attack?
Regarding [bitcoin-dev] Time to worry about 80-bit collision attacks or not?
considering that it is from July 2016, is there any known instance of this attack in practice?
Also what addresses are ...
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Are satoshis private keys easier to find than modern ones (given proper security in both cases)?
I read that back then, you had entropies of 128 bit instead of 256. Like 12 vs 24 word mnemonic seed phrases. Are their wallets easier to brute force than other ones?
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Was the bug bounty ever claimed for OP_CTV?
There was a large bug bounty on the implementation of OP_CTV in 2022 (according to this source it reached as much as 5.3 Bitcoin). Was it ever claimed?
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Is the 'real barrier' to attack bitcoin's consensus 33.34%, rather than 51%?
Saw a random tweet thread that claimed that the "51" in "51% attack" was misinformation, and that in reality only 33.34% of hash power would be needed for a bad actor to attack the ...
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12 or 24 words for mnemonic?
I do not have reference, but I have heard that there is no use in using more than 12 word for mnemonic, because ECDSA secp256k1 only has 128 bit strength.
Is this correct?
If it is, then does ...
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First Question from New User to Bitcoin [duplicate]
What is Bitcoin?
I received a "congratulations" message from George Green saying I have a new Bitcoin transaction and to click a link to "get it."
Payout is: $29,970.07 and ...
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Does key derivation make (or help to make) Bitcoin "quantum safe"?
We have these two other questions that touch on the same subject of how safe is Bitcoin from quantum computing attacks, but I believe mine is specific enough to be a separate question:
What effects ...
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What are the risks of OP_VAULT?
In the past it has been argued that some covenant schemes could be risky. However AFAIK OP_VAULT is a very specific and limited construction.
What are the risks associated with it, if any?
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Is spitting a BIP39 seed phrase in half meaningly less secure than splitting the entropy in half?
One way to create a distribution, 2-of-3 backup of your seed phrase ABC is to store the following in three separate places:
AB
BC
CA
Any two of these lists is sufficient to reconstructed the entire ...
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Are bitcoins with more confirmations more valuable?
Are bitcoins with more confirmations more valuable, or does the number of confirmations not add a sort of "time value of money (TVM)"?
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If Multisig Xpub is compromised, but not the seeds or wallets
I have a multisig set up.
My seeds and hardware wallets are secure.
However, what would happen if someone got a hold of my Xpub file only?
Am I correct they could view my holdings and transactions, ...
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Is Taproot the best address against quantum computers attack?
I'm looking for an address type for long term storage of bitcoin but I don't know what to choose. I'm not sure if Taproot is more secure than segwit.
Another question I have about Taproot, is that if ...
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does connecting to full node via rpc over the public internet reveal your credentials?
While trying to connect to my full node, I accidentally entered my public ip address in the rpcconnect field of bitcoin.conf. Should I be worried that my password is now out there and anyone can ...
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What were any supply chain attacks against Bitcoin, if any?
Was there ever a case were Bitcoin or Bitcoin-Core itself was compromised? For example, did it ever happen that a malware hacker could insert code that compromised Bitcoin at the protocol level? For ...
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What is the correct way to make crypto payments except the escrow intermediate?
For small payments, bitcoin does not require any way to guarantee the exchange of coins for goods. But how do you make a big purchase (such as houses), especially when buyer and seller do not meet in ...
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Security issues and theft of money from the wallet
A transaction was sent from my node night
CTransaction(hash=27aac94405, ver=2, vin.size=7, vout.size=1, nLockTime=762357)
CTxIn(COutPoint(85d4e6a81c, 0), scriptSig=, nSequence=4294967294)
...
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What is the difference between a push-based transaction model and a pull-based transaction model?
What is a pull-based transaction model? What is a push-based transaction model?
I've heard people describe bitcoin as a push-based transaction model.
I've heard people describe traditional financial ...
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Has money ever been stolen in bitcoin due to a design flaw in the protocol?
Is there an example of a single historical case of theft of bitcoin due to a flaw in the design of the bitcoin protocol?
When googling "is bitcoin secure?" it's easy to get confused because ...
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What is the November 2022 bug in LND, what caused it and what would prevent a similar bug in future?
LND users are being asked as of November 2022 (as they were in October 2022) to urgently update their Lightning node software due to a bug in LND/btcd (alternative Bitcoin implementation in Go). What ...
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Block Transaction if it is over a certain amount
Is there a way to block a transaction if the transaction exceeds a certain amount of BTC. I am running bitcoind.
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Is it possible to sign a transaction programmatically via a connected cold storage wallet?
Lets say I want to generate my own transactions and sign them myself via my computer. Signing them in the computer would require me to input my private key, which would compromise the key. Is it ...
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Security of Vanity Addresses
I found a vanity address with this verified tool: https://github.com/JeanLucPons/VanitySearch
And now I hold my private key, with BTC I am used to only the recovery seed and I don't know what position ...
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What is the current status of watchtower implementations in October 2022? Are they mature, widely in use?
One way of protecting yourself against losing money as a result of bugs and crashes in your Lightning node implementation software (e.g. the recent LND bug) is to run a watchtower yourself or employ ...
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What is the October 2022 bug in LND, what caused it and what would prevent a similar bug in future?
LND users are being asked as of October 2022 to urgently update their Lightning node software due to a bug in LND/btcd (alternative Bitcoin implementation in Go). What is the bug and what caused it? ...
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How to recover from forgotten password for Bitcoin Wallet for Android backup?
Back in 2016, I had a Bitcoin wallet with a couple of euros worth of Bitcoin. I used the Android app "bitcoin wallet" to backup my wallet but I had to use a password.
This week, I found the ...
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Exploiting the use of signature?
I've just learned signatures and why they're used in blockchain.
As I understand there is a key pair that consist of one public key and one private key:
Private keys are used to sign a message(...
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What prevent users from cheating in an HTLC contract
I was reading about HTLC and how Charlie have to create a random number and generates its SHA256 hash that is supposed to be used by Bob in the end to finalize the payment he has received from Alice.
...
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Application security of Bitcoin Core
Is there any information about how Bitcoin Core has applied secure development or application security in the past and currently? For example, the inclusion of third-party dependencies must be checked ...
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What's the difference between the anti klepto protocol and anti exfil?
What is the difference between the anti-klepto protocol (also here) and Anti-Exfil? Is it the same thing just with different names or are there differences? It seems they are both addressing the nonce ...
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How does bitcoin prevent DDoS amplification via the `addr` p2p message type?
If I am not mistaken the mainline bitcoind will accept unsolicited addr messages, and upon receiving this message - the struct is deserialized, and then verify each address from the unsolicited ...
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can MITM read my metamask seed phrase when I click "Reveal Secret Recovery Phrase" in the wallet? [closed]
I worry someone is leaching my WiFi and potentially trying to do a MITM attack. If I click "Reveal Secret Recovery Phrase" in my metamask wallet extension, will they be able to read it via ...
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