Hack history / 2021 / Hack or exploit
PancakeSwap
Hack or exploit on Apr 12, 2021 · Improper Access Control
SOURCES AGREE ON DATE AND LOSS · 2 SOURCES
Lost
$1.8M
dollars at the time
Returned
none listed
as the sources state it
Rank
#738
among thefts by dollars lost
What happened
An insider with admin lottery access exploited a predictable block-hash-based RNG by orchestrating multiple transactions in the same block with varied gas prices. This allowed manipulation of the random number generator to predict winning tickets and withdraw 59,765 CAKE (~$1.8M) from the lottery prize pool.
Details
- Date
- Apr 12, 2021
- Kind
- Hack or exploit
- Method
- Improper Access Control
- How in
- Smart contract bug
- Target
- DeFi protocol
- Chains
- BNB Chain
Reported by
Related incidents
PancakeSwap / Cream Finance 2021 · Hack or exploit · undisclosed
Poly Network 2021 · Hack or exploit · $611M
Mirror 2021 · Hack or exploit · $90M
ValueDefi 2021 · Hack or exploit · $10M
DAO Maker Vesting 2021 · Hack or exploit · $7M
Poly Network 2021 · Hack or exploit · $611M
Mirror 2021 · Hack or exploit · $90M
ValueDefi 2021 · Hack or exploit · $10M
DAO Maker Vesting 2021 · Hack or exploit · $7M
Cite this page
SwanBluechip, "PancakeSwap hack, Apr 12, 2021: $1.8M lost", Crypto hack history, https://swan-hack-tracker.pages.dev/history/i/htf1fa713a1b/ (data as of 2026-10-31).