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News · Security & Hacks

Electrum Patches Replace-By-Fee Vulnerability After Rogue Servers Steal Bitcoin

A client flaw allowed malicious servers to spoof unconfirmed transaction history and trick users into signing fee bumps that redirected funds.

▼ Bearish$BTC $79,914 −0.6%
October 26, 2026basisdesk.news
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Key point 1 of 3

01

Electrum released version 4.8.3 after rogue servers exploited mempool history handling to redirect bitcoin transactions .

October 26, 2026basisdesk.news
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Key point 2 of 3

02

Adversaries served spoofed, zero-fee transactions with matching tail characters, tricking victims who initiated RBF fee bumps .

October 26, 2026basisdesk.news
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Key point 3 of 3

03

The fix verifies signatures on wallet-owned inputs before adding mempool transactions to client history .

October 26, 2026basisdesk.news
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Context

Electrum relies on remote servers for mempool status by design to maintain a lightweight footprint, historically relying on SPV proofs exclusively for mined blocks .

October 26, 2026basisdesk.news
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Why it matters

Users connected to public, untrusted Electrum servers risked fund theft when attempting to fee-bump stalled unconfirmed transactions .

October 26, 2026basisdesk.news
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What to watch

Adoption rates for Electrum version 4.8.3 and reports of any alternative spoofing vectors on non-wallet inputs .

October 26, 2026basisdesk.news
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Sources

Built from 1 primary source, machine-checked before publication.

  • github.com
October 26, 2026basisdesk.news
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October 26, 2026basisdesk.news
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