The cross-chain interoperability protocol Axelar has suspended its connection to Secret Network. This follows a security incident involving IBC routing that resulted in approximately $4.67 million in bridged assets being stolen. Axelar stated that preliminary analysis indicates the issue is concentrated on the ICS-20 contract on the Secret side, and the core protocol itself remains unaffected.
Immediately disconnect two connections.
In its June 19 update, Axelar stated that the team identified anomalies in assets transferred from the Axelar chain to Secret Network via the cross-chain communication protocol IBC. Following the incident, its emergency committee has disabled the related connections to Secret and Secret-SNIP.
The protocol party stated that the affected component was a Secret side ICS-20 smart contract used in the Cosmos IBC connection between Axelar and Secret. According to current disclosures, the loss is estimated at approximately $4.67 million.
- The stolen assets amounted to approximately $4.67 million.
- Secret and Secret-SNIP connection has been disabled.
- The event involves the IBC routing between Axelar and Secret.
The scope of impact has not yet expanded.
Axelar states that, at this stage, indications suggest the issue is limited to assets transferred from Axelar to Secret Network via the affected IBC routes mentioned above. Other IBC connections appear unaffected, and no anomalies have been detected with other Secret Network tokens.
The team also emphasized that Axelar’s core protocol was not affected by this incident, suggesting that the current investigation is more likely focused on specific integrations rather than Axelar’s validator network or its underlying interoperability infrastructure.
The investigation is ongoing.
Axelar stated that the team has contacted relevant exchanges and law enforcement agencies and will continue to pursue the investigation. The protocol also mentioned that it is preparing a more detailed post-incident analysis report.
As of publication, neither Axelar nor Secret Network has disclosed the full technical details of the attack or the specific manner in which the vulnerability was exploited. Current publicly available information primarily points to a vulnerability in Secret’s contract, rather than the cross-chain network as a whole.