This AMD Ryzen Bug Can Compromise Your Crypto Wallet Keys

Keshav Verma

1 year ago

3 mins read

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A new bug called “Zenbleed” affecting specific AMD CPUs has been found that can potentially leak info, such as keys attached to crypto wallets.

AMD Zenbleed May Be Exploited To Leak Crypto Wallet Keys

As reported by the computer-focused news website Tom’s Hardware, a new vulnerability related to AMD CPUs has been discovered that can compromise sensitive info such as passwords and encryption keys.

This bug was independently found by Travis Ormandy, a Google Information Security researcher, who has now made public a documentation of this vulnerability.

The Zenbleed exploit works on all products that use AMD’s “Zen 2” architecture. Tom’s Hardware notes that even the AMD EPYC processors in data centers aren’t free from this vulnerability.

With this bug, a malicious hacker can potentially get locked information through the CPU and be able to access the user’s login credentials. Naturally, this also means that the keys of a crypto wallet, if installed on the same hardware, may no longer be safe.

This vulnerability is so powerful that the attacker doesn’t require physical access to the PC or server; it can be executed through javascript on a webpage, like that inside an ad.

AMD has released a new security advisory about Zenbleed that breaks down when the different patches may be released for its various products. According to this information, the consumer CPUs from the Ryzen 3000 and 4000 series, and some from the 5000 line, will not get appropriate fixes until November and December of this year. This would suggest that these home-computer processors might not be protected until the end of the year.

“AMD’s processors used in the PS5, Xbox Series X, and S, and Steam Deck are all also powered by Zen 2 chips, but it remains unclear if those are impacted,” explains Tom’s Hardware.

Which Digital Asset Wallets Would Be Affected?

Any crypto wallets the user would directly install on their PC could be vulnerable to this exploit. However, keys stored on dedicated devices like hardware wallets should be safe.

Encryption keys stored on locked-down computers (that is, those disconnected from the internet) should also be unaffected by the vulnerability.

Recently, there has been a push towards self-custody in the crypto sector, as investors have slowly become aware of the risks related to centralized platforms after established players such as FTX have gone down during the past year.

However, Bugs like these showcase that although self-custodial wallets may be safer than keeping coins on centralized platforms, some types are less safer than others. For example, the hot wallets that need to be connected to the internet can potentially fall prey to such vulnerabilities.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading around $29,300, down 2% in the last week.

Looks like the crypto has plunged recently | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView

Featured image from Mariia Shalabaieva on Unsplash.com, chart from TradingView.com

Keshav Verma

Keshav is currently a senior writer at NewsBTC and has been attached to the website since June 14, 2021.

Keshav has been writing for many years, first as a hobbyist and later as a freelancer. He has experience working in a variety of niches, even fiction at one point, but the cryptocurrency industry has been the longest he has been attached to.

In terms of official educational qualifications, Keshav holds a bachelor’s degree in Physics from one of the premier institutes of India, the University of Delhi (DU). He started the degree with an aim of eventually making a career in Physics, but the onset of COVID led to a shift in plans. The virus meant that the college classes had to be delivered in the online-mode and with it came free time for him to explore other passions.

Initially only seeking to make some beer money, Keshav unexpectedly landed clients offering real projects, after which there was no looking back. Writing was something he had always enjoyed and to be able to do it for a living was like a dream come true.

Keshav completed his Physics degree in 2022 and has been focusing on his writing career since, but that doesn’t mean his passion for Physics has ended. He eventually plans to re-enter university to obtain a masters degree in the same field, but perhaps only to satiate his own interest rather than for using it as a means to find employment..

Keshav has found blockchain and its concepts fascinating ever since he started going down the rabbit-hole back in 2020. On-chain analysis in particular has been something he likes to research more about, which is why his NewsBTC pieces tend to involve it in some form.

Being of the science background, Keshav likes if concepts are clear and consistent, so he generally explains the indicators he talks about in a bit of detail so that the readers can perhaps come out having understood and learnt something new.

As for hobbies, Keshav is super into football, anime, and videogames. He enjoys football not only as a watcher, but also as a player. For games, Keshav generally tends towards enjoying singleplayer adventures, with EA FC (formerly FIFA) being the only online game he is active in. Though, perhaps due to being ultra-focused on the game, he is today a semi-pro on the EA FC scene, regularly participating in tournaments and sometimes even taking back prize money.

Because of his enthusiasm for anime and games, he also self-learned Japanese along the way to consume some of the untranslated gems out there. The skill didn’t merely remain as just a hobby, either, as he put it to productive use during his exploration for small-time gigs at the start of COVID, fulfilling a couple of Japanese-to-English translation jobs.

Keshav is also big into fitness, with agility and acceleration-related workouts making a big part of his program due to the relevance they have in football. On top of that, he also has a more traditional strength based program for the gym, which he does to maintain an overall fitness level of his body.

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