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News · Security & Hacks

Attacker Drains 200 ETH From Dormant MakerDAO Auction Keeper

A legacy keeper contract lost $542,982 in ETH-A collateral after an unauthenticated function let an attacker settle and claim unsettled 2020 auction lots.

▼ Bearish$ETH $2,572 −4.7%$MKR $1,825 +0.6%
October 7, 2026basisdesk.news
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Key point 1 of 3

01

An attacker drained 200 ETH ($542,982) from a legacy MakerDAO auction-keeper contract on Oct. 6 .

October 7, 2026basisdesk.news
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Key point 2 of 3

02

The keeper possessed unsettled lots won with zero bids during MakerDAO's March 2020 Black Thursday crash .

October 7, 2026basisdesk.news
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Key point 3 of 3

03

Missing access control allowed the attacker to gain full delegation over the keeper's Vat balance and route proceeds to Tornado Cash .

October 7, 2026basisdesk.news
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Context

MakerDAO suffered severe auction liquidations during the March 2020 market crash, leaving multiple zero-bid auctions uncollected onchain in keeper contracts for years.

October 7, 2026basisdesk.news
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Why it matters

The loss is isolated to the private operator of the legacy auction-keeper contract, with no direct loss to MakerDAO's active protocol reserves.

October 7, 2026basisdesk.news
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What to watch

Monitoring onchain addresses linked to Tornado Cash deposits to track potential further laundering of the remaining stolen ether.

October 7, 2026basisdesk.news
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Sources

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

  • certik.com
October 7, 2026basisdesk.news
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October 7, 2026basisdesk.news
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