{"investigation":{"slug":"stake-dao","entity_name":"Stake DAO","trust_score":36,"severity_base":null,"score_modifier":-10,"confidence":0.78,"status":"published","content_type":"investigation","summary":"Stake DAO is a non-custodial DeFi protocol built around liquid staking, yield aggregation, and governance participation via veToken mechanics. The protocol has suffered three documented security incidents since 2023, the most severe of which — a May 2026 deployer private key compromise — enabled the minting of 5.4 trillion fraudulent vsdCRV tokens on Arbitrum, resulting in roughly $91,000 in realized losses despite a nominally catastrophic exposure. Repeated operational security failures across a two-year span, including a March 2026 oracle exploit draining $176,000 from its Votemarket product, indicate a pattern of infrastructure risk that audited smart contracts alone have not resolved.","sections":[{"content":"","heading":"","sources":[{"url":"","name":"https://www.stakedao.org/","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"","name":"https://docs.stakedao.org/sdt","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"","name":"https://iq.wiki/wiki/stake-dao","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"","name":"https://defillama.com/protocol/stake-dao","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"","name":"https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/stake-dao","type":"other","credibility":3}],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"","heading":"","sources":[{"url":"","name":"https://cryptoslate.com/people/julien-bouteloup/","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"","name":"https://iq.wiki/wiki/julien-bouteloup","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"","name":"https://www.quicknode.com/builders-guide/tools/stake-dao-julien-bouteloup?category=defi-tools","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"","name":"https://members.delphidigital.io/reports/building-defi-disneyland-julien-bouteloup-covering-stakedao-blackpool-rekt-and-curve/","type":"other","credibility":3}],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"","heading":"","sources":[{"url":"","name":"https://www.cryptotimes.io/2026/05/27/stake-dao-exploited-as-hacker-mints-5-4-trillion-fake-vsdcrv/","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"","name":"https://cryptobriefing.com/stake-dao-exploit-vsdcrv-arbitrum/","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"","name":"https://beincrypto.com/stake-dao-exploit-deployer-key-vsdcrv/","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"","name":"https://invezz.com/news/2026/05/27/arbitrum-based-stakedao-contract-hit-by-5-4t-vsdcrv-exploit/","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"","name":"https://crypto.news/defi-exploit-hits-stake-dao-as-attacker-swaps-vsdcrv-for-eth/","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"","name":"https://protos.com/stake-dao-hit-by-hack-as-defi-security-confidence-hits-new-low/","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"","name":"https://www.cryptotimes.io/2026/05/28/stake-dao-assures-users-after-vsdcrv-exploit-and-bridge-shutdown/","type":"other","credibility":3}],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"","heading":"","sources":[{"url":"","name":"https://x.com/StakeDAOHQ/status/2032489716629578004","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"","name":"https://gov.stakedao.org/t/sdgp-65-allow-the-refund-of-affected-users-from-the-march-12-2026-incident-from-the-treasury/1117","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"","name":"https://gov.stakedao.org/t/stake-dao-association-march-2026-report/1124","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"","name":"https://protos.com/stake-dao-hit-by-hack-as-defi-security-confidence-hits-new-low/","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"","name":"https://smartcontractshacking.com/hacks/stake-dao-hack-2026","type":"other","credibility":3}],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"","heading":"","sources":[{"url":"","name":"https://github.com/stake-dao/stake-dao-security/blob/main/disclosures/29-11-2023.md","type":"other","credibility":3}],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"","heading":"","sources":[{"url":"","name":"https://github.com/stake-dao/audits","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"","name":"https://docs.stakedao.org/audits","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"","name":"https://www.chainsecurity.com/security-audit/stakedao-liquidlockers","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"","name":"https://skynet.certik.com/projects/stake-dao","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"","name":"https://beincrypto.com/stake-dao-exploit-deployer-key-vsdcrv/","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"","name":"https://protos.com/stake-dao-hit-by-hack-as-defi-security-confidence-hits-new-low/","type":"other","credibility":3}],"severity":"medium"},{"content":"","heading":"","sources":[{"url":"","name":"https://docs.stakedao.org/sdt","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"","name":"https://docs.stakedao.org/vesdt_governance","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"","name":"https://etherscan.io/token/0x73968b9a57c6e53d41345fd57a6e6ae27d6cdb2f","type":"other","credibility":3},{"url":"","name":"https://www.mexc.com/en-GB/price/stake-dao/info","type":"other","credibility":3}],"severity":"medium"}],"timeline":[{"date":"2021-01-20","event":"Stake DAO and SDT token launched on Ethereum mainnet; initial airdrop distributed.","source":""},{"date":"2021-02-04","event":"SDT reaches all-time high price of $16.63.","source":""},{"date":"2022","event":"Stake DAO adopts veTokenomic model; SDT lockable for veSDT governance rights.","source":"","date_original":"2022-01-01"},{"date":"2022-06-15","event":"SDT reaches all-time low of $0.1750 amid broader crypto bear market.","source":""},{"date":"2023","event":"Two-year linear vesting for initial contributors and angel investors concludes.","source":"","date_original":"2023-01-01"},{"date":"2023-11-29","event":"Stake DAO discloses LiquidityGauge deployment error on BNB Chain; approximately $4,011 in CAKE tokens stolen; affected users compensated via airdrop.","source":""},{"date":"2026-03-12","event":"Votemarket oracle contract exploited on Arbitrum and Base; approximately $176,000 drained across 54 reward campaigns. Governance proposal SDGP-65 introduced to reimburse affected users from treasury.","source":""},{"date":"2026-05-27","event":"Deployer private key compromised; attacker mints 5.4 trillion vsdCRV on Arbitrum via forged LayerZero v2 cross-chain message. Attacker realizes approximately $91,000 before DEX liquidity exhausted. Stake DAO shuts down vsdCRV bridge and urges users not to interact with vsdCRV.","source":""},{"date":"2026-05-28","event":"Stake DAO publishes follow-up statement assuring users that core products (Liquid Lockers, Boosted Yields, Votemarket, Morpho lending) are unaffected; vsdCRV backing on Ethereum mainnet confirmed secured.","source":""}],"sources_used":[],"source_tags":["defillama"],"addresses":[],"reviewed":false,"reviewed_by":null,"model_used":"claude-sonnet-4-6","created_at":"2026-05-04T02:54:18.175168+00:00","updated_at":"2026-08-27T10:41:30.52+00:00"}}