Hack history / 2022 / Hack or exploit
Defrost
Hack or exploit on Dec 23, 2022 · Private Key Compromised
ATTACK TX CONFIRMED ON CHAININ REVIEWSOURCES DISAGREE ON DATE OR LOSS · 4 SOURCES
Lost
$12M
sources: $170K to $12.2M
Returned
$12M
100% of the loss, as a source states it
Rank
#266
among thefts by dollars lost
What happened
On December 24, 2022, Defrost Finance on Avalanche suffered two coordinated attacks: V2 flashloan drained $173K via LSWUSDC price manipulation; V1 admin key compromise allowed minting 100M H20 and draining ~$12M USDT via fake oracle. All funds were later returned.
In review: sources disagree on the loss.
Details
- Date
- Dec 23, 2022
- Kind
- Hack or exploit
- Method
- Private Key Compromised
- How in
- Keys, accounts and infrastructure
- Target
- DeFi protocol
- Chains
- Avalanche
After the theft
- Returned by the attacker
- yes, amount not stated
“All funds were later returned.” (DefiLlama) - Recovered or frozen
- $12M
“$12.0M taken, $0K after recovery or freezing” (Web3 Is Going Great)
Related incidents
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Rubic 2022 · Hack or exploit · $1.2M
QANX Bridge 2022 · Hack or exploit · $707K
Citizen Finance 2022 · Hack or exploit · $94K
Rubic 2022 · Hack or exploit · $1.2M
QANX Bridge 2022 · Hack or exploit · $707K
Citizen Finance 2022 · Hack or exploit · $94K
Cite this page
SwanBluechip, "Defrost hack, Dec 23, 2022: $12M lost", Crypto hack history, https://swan-hack-tracker.pages.dev/history/i/ht179a17251b/ (data as of 2026-10-31).