Verify a decision

{"actor":"system:backfill","investigation_id":"cc1ddaee-d8b6-435b-9531-c78d1fdcd65c","kind":"publish","page_slug":"cetus-clmm","published_at":"2026-05-20T03:37:16.397Z","sequence_num":1,"snapshot":{"content_type":"investigation","entity_name":"Cetus CLMM","sections":[{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://academy.binance.com/en/articles/what-is-the-cetus-protocol-cetus"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://www.okx.com/en-us/learn/what-is-cetus-protocol"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://dedaub.com/blog/the-cetus-amm-200m-hack-how-a-flawed-overflow-check-led-to-catastrophic-loss/"}]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://www.halborn.com/blog/post/explained-the-cetus-hack-may-2025"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://www.cyfrin.io/blog/inside-the-223m-cetus-exploit-root-cause-and-impact-analysis"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://blocksec.com/blog/cetus-incident-one-unchecked-shift-drains-223m-largest"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://dedaub.com/blog/the-cetus-amm-200m-hack-how-a-flawed-overflow-check-led-to-catastrophic-loss/"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://cointelegraph.com/explained/how-220m-was-stolen-in-minutes-understanding-the-cetus-dex-exploit-on-sui"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://www.elliptic.co/blog/cetus-protocol-hacked-for-more-than-200-million"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://www.quillaudits.com/blog/hack-analysis/cetus-protocol-hack-analysis"}]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://cointelegraph.com/news/sui-vote-on-162m-frozen-cetus-funds-sparks-decentralization-debate-finance-redefined-may-23-30"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://beincrypto.com/decentralization-trust-shaken-cetus-hack/"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://blog.sui.io/cetus-incident-response-onchain-community-vote/"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://www.ainvest.com/news/sui-network-freezes-162-million-cetus-exploit-90-9-validators-approve-return-2505/"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://www.dlnews.com/articles/defi/sui-validators-votes-hack-the-cetus-hacker-and-return-160m/"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://www.cryptotimes.io/2025/05/24/260m-cetus-hack-sui-freezing-funds-sparks-decentralization-concerns/"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://bitcoinist.com/sui-220-m-crypto-hack-centralization-backlash/"}]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://x.com/zachxbt/status/2040055823804793165"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://www.elliptic.co/blog/cetus-protocol-hacked-for-more-than-200-million"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/396296/blockchain-sleuth-zachxbt-accuses-circle-slow-usdc-freezes-420-million-illicit-funds"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://www.merklescience.com/blog/hack-track-how-a-shared-library-bug-triggered-the-223m-cetus-hack"}]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/357386/sui-dex-cetus-protocol-restarts-platform-after-recovering-from-223-million-exploit"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/business/2025/06/09/sui-s-cetus-dex-is-back-online-after-usd223m-exploit"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://unchainedcrypto.com/cetus-relaunches-protocol-after-recovering-162m-from-exploit/"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://medium.com/@CetusProtocol/cetus-relaunch-incoming-recovery-plan-and-the-road-ahead-9fc0f8bd5c41"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://thedefiant.io/news/defi/cetus-protocol-relaunches-restores-over-50-tvl-after-usd220-million-exploit"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://www.coindesk.com/markets/2025/05/28/sui-network-steps-in-to-compensate-cetus-losses-in-full-after-223m-exploit"}]},{"content":"","heading":"","severity":"medium","sources":[{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://blockworks.co/news/sui-cetus-exploit-dex-security"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://www.cyfrin.io/blog/inside-the-223m-cetus-exploit-root-cause-and-impact-analysis"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://www.theblock.co/post/396296/blockchain-sleuth-zachxbt-accuses-circle-slow-usdc-freezes-420-million-illicit-funds"},{"credibility":3,"name":"","type":"other","url":"https://beincrypto.com/decentralization-trust-shaken-cetus-hack/"}]}],"sources_used":[],"summary":"Cetus Protocol is a concentrated liquidity market maker (CLMM) and the dominant decentralized exchange on the Sui Network, launched in 2023. On May 22, 2025, an arithmetic overflow vulnerability in its fixed-point math library enabled an attacker to drain approximately $223 million from liquidity pools in the largest DeFi exploit of 2025, of which roughly $162 million was subsequently frozen by Sui validators and later returned to affected users via an on-chain governance vote. The incident raised significant concerns about smart contract security, audit effectiveness, and the degree of decentralization on the Sui network.","timeline":[{"date":"2023-05-01","event":"Cetus Protocol launches on Sui mainnet with CLMM architecture; CETUS token generation event conducted","source":""},{"date":"2023-05-01","event":"OtterSec and MoveBit complete initial security audits of Cetus smart contracts; arithmetic overflow path in get_delta_a not flagged as critical","source":""},{"date":"2025-04-01","event":"Zellic completes audit of Cetus codebase; no critical vulnerabilities identified","source":""},{"date":"2025-05-22","event":"Exploit begins at approximately 10:30 UTC; attacker exploits checked_shlw overflow bug to drain approximately $223 million from Cetus liquidity pools on Sui","source":""},{"date":"2025-05-22","event":"Attacker bridges approximately $61 million USDC from Sui to Ethereum via CCTP across 60+ transactions over 90 minutes; Ethereum receiving address: 0x89012a55cd6b88e407c9d4ae9b3425f55924919b","source":""},{"date":"2025-05-22","event":"Cetus suspends smart contracts; Sui validators coordinate to freeze approximately $162 million in attacker-controlled funds remaining on Sui","source":""},{"date":"2025-05-22","event":"Cetus team and private sector experts request Circle to freeze stolen USDC on Ethereum; Cetus offers $5 million bug bounty to attacker for return of funds","source":""},{"date":"2025-05-23","event":"Decentralization criticism erupts publicly; Justin Bons (Cyber Capital) and Duo Nine (YCC) argue Sui validator coordination demonstrates centralized fund control","source":""},{"date":"2025-05-26","event":"Sui Foundation publishes on-chain governance proposal to transfer frozen funds to a 4-of-6 multisig trust wallet held by Cetus, Sui Foundation, and OtterSec","source":""},{"date":"2025-05-29","event":"On-chain governance vote concludes early; validators representing 90.9% of stake vote yes; frozen funds transferred to multisig trust","source":""},{"date":"2025-06-01","event":"Circle blacklists attacker's Ethereum USDC address approximately one month after exploit; stolen USDC had already been converted to ETH, rendering blacklist ineffective for recovery","source":""},{"date":"2025-06-08","event":"Cetus Protocol relaunches at 03:00 UTC with full functionality restored; Sui Foundation $30 million USDC loan and $7 million protocol reserves deployed to replenish liquidity","source":""},{"date":"2025-06-10","event":"CETUS token compensation vesting begins; 5% of total supply immediately claimable, 10% to unlock linearly over 12 months for affected LPs","source":""},{"date":"2026-04-03","event":"ZachXBT publishes broader analysis alleging Circle failed to freeze approximately $420 million in illicit USDC across 15 incidents including Cetus; Cetus case cited as exhibit of delayed response","source":""}]},"v":1}