CoW Swap appears to be the latest crypto firm to suffer a frontend exploit, according to a warning message from CoW DAO on Tuesday. At about 14:54 UTC, the project’s website was hit with a DNS hijacking.
“We are currently experiencing an issue with the CoW Swap frontend (http://swap.cow.fi). While we are investigating, please DO NOT use CoW Swap,” the team wrote on X.
Attacks exploiting vulnerabilities in crypto project websites are far from uncommon. Earlier this month, HypurrFi warned users that its frontend was taken over by an apparent phishing scheme, and the month before that, attackers compromised the BONKfun domain.
In an update on Tuesday, CoW DAO confirmed its backend protocol and APIs were secure, though they were temporarily paused out of an abundance of caution. It is unclear if any users have been affected. The Block reached out to CoW DAO for comment.
“We are now actively working to resolve the situation. Please continue to refrain from using swap dot cow dot fi until we confirm that it is safe to use,” the team added. Users were also warned to revoke all approvals made on CoW Swap after 14:54 UTC today, using tools like revoke.cash.
How now blockchain cow?
CoW Swap is a particularly important aggregator for decentralized exchanges, designed to provide users with the cheapest and fastest pricing by comparing various DEXs, batching auctions, and using “solvers” while remaining non-custodial and peer-to-peer.
Spun out of the Gnosis ecosystem, CoW Swap also has a reputation for security and is integrated in several key Ethereum-based protocols and services like the non-custodial Safe wallet, top crypto lending protocol Aave, and other DeFi applications.
According to DeFiLlama, CoW Swap recorded about $3.5 billion worth of DEX aggregator volume over the past 30 days. It has earned about $50 million in lifetime fees.
CoW Swap stands for Coincidence of Wants, the economic theory behind P2P trades between two or more parties that want to transact without an intermediary. CoW Swap frontend users remark on the protocol’s cutesy “moo” sound effect that plays after a transaction goes through.
COW tokens are trading at $0.22, up more than 2.5%, according to The Block’s data.
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