Skip to content

Beanstalk Flash Loan Governance Exploit

  • Project: Beanstalk Protocol
  • Exploit_type: Flash Loan + Governance Manipulation
  • Loss: ~$182 million
  • Entry_point: emergencyCommit() via governance proposal (BIP‑18)
  • Exploit_vector: Attacker used a flash loan to amass voting power, passed a malicious proposal, and triggered immediate fund extraction via emergencyCommit().
  • Severity: Critical
  • Attack_steps:
    • Took out a massive flash loan (~$1 billion) from Aave in stablecoins and DAI
    • Converted into governance tokens (Stalk) and new LP tokens (BEAN3CRV‑f and BEANLUSD‑f) to secure >67% voting power
    • Submitted BIP‑18 (malicious transfer) and BIP‑19 (Ukraine donation), then used emergencyCommit() to bypass the 7-day waiting period
    • Executed fund transfer, drained ~$182 M from the silo, repaid the flash loan, yielded ~76 M profit
    • Attacker laundered proceeds via Tornado Cash and donated ~$250K to Ukraine.
  • Impact: ~$182 million drained from protocol reserves; stablecoin peg broke; governance integrity compromised.
  • Exploitability: High
  • Root_cause: Governance design allowed flash loan–based voting manipulation; emergencyCommit() lacked anti–flash loan protections or delays.
  • Resource:Link