Share this article

Token Exchange DX.Exchange Says It Has Patched Security Vulnerability

DX.Exchange claims it has patched a security vulnerability allowing anyone access to user authentication tokens.

Trading image via Shutterstock
Trading image via Shutterstock

Security token trading platform DX.Exchange says it has patched a security vulnerability that allowed anyone to access user authentication tokens.

DX.Exchange, which went live on Monday, offers crypto tokens representing shares in a number of Nasdaq-traded firms. The company uses Nasdaq's matching engine and financial information exchange protocol to facilitate the trading of these digital securities.

STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Long & Short Newsletter today. See all newsletters

However, in its first few days, the platform revealed sensitive data, including password reset links, as reported by Ars Technica. It is unclear how many user accounts were at compromised, though an anonymous trader told the news site that he collected "about 100 ... tokens over 30 minutes."

Ars further reported that it was able to collect "a large number" of authentication tokens.

In a statement, the DX.Exchange attributed the bug to "an authentication token error," but said the issue was resolved before any damage could occur.

Daniel Skowronski, the exchange's CEO, said in a statement that user funds were not at risk, explaining:

"We are happy to report that the vulnerability has been successfully patched, and no user funds were compromised ... Customer funds were always safe, our multi layer advanced monitoring and defense mechanism was able to avoid any further issue."

The statement went on to note that any developers who discover bugs in the future can report them to the exchange directly through a bug bounty program.

Trading graph image via Shutterstock

Nikhilesh De

Nikhilesh De is CoinDesk's managing editor for global policy and regulation, covering regulators, lawmakers and institutions. When he's not reporting on digital assets and policy, he can be found admiring Amtrak or building LEGO trains. He owns < $50 in BTC and < $20 in ETH. He was named the Association of Cryptocurrency Journalists and Researchers' Journalist of the Year in 2020.

Nikhilesh De