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r/coldcard: Crypto-Guide relaying the Mk3 security advisory

reddit-mk3-advisory-relay

https://www.reddit.com/r/coldcard/comments/1vb9doi/mk3_security_advisory/

Latest reviewed change

source content difference between and

Two new comments: nyr00nyg saying they are doing fine with a Ledger Nano, and a reply from Crypto-Guide endorsing Ledger.

seen +16 -0 full history below
 edited: false
 body:
 Thanks for surfacing the official advisory. The bit people keep skipping over: updating firmware doesn’t repair a seed that was generated on an affected version. That one needs replacing outright.
+
+comment: p220cy7
+parent: t3_1vb9doi
+author: nyr00nyg
+created_utc: 1786022432

First lines only. The complete diff is in the timeline below.

Organisation
reddit
Evidence role
Community discussion
Published
not established
Source changes
2
Detected differences
2
Unreviewed
0
Copies held
3

Every check is recorded, including checks that found no text change. A detected edit is therefore bounded between two checks. The publisher's exact save time is not observable from this record. Last checked .

  1. source content difference between and Current source content +16 -0

    Two new comments: nyr00nyg saying they are doing fine with a Ledger Nano, and a reply from Crypto-Guide endorsing Ledger.

    seen · Captured here 21,019 chars
    What changed from the previous capture 16 lines
     edited: false
     body:
     Thanks for surfacing the official advisory. The bit people keep skipping over: updating firmware doesn’t repair a seed that was generated on an affected version. That one needs replacing outright.
    +
    +comment: p220cy7
    +parent: t3_1vb9doi
    +author: nyr00nyg
    +created_utc: 1786022432
    +edited: false
    +body:
    +Doing just fine with my ledger nano
    +
    +comment: p22hlmc
    +parent: t1_p220cy7
    +author: Crypto-Guide
    +created_utc: 1786027109
    +edited: false
    +body:
    +Ledger and chill ;)
    
    Extracted text as captured
    post: 1vb9doi
    author: Crypto-Guide
    created_utc: 1785452914
    title: Mk3 Security Advisory
    
    comment: p0rs8pl
    parent: t3_1vb9doi
    author: bitusher
    created_utc: 1785454184
    edited: 1785605935
    body:
    Thanks for getting the word out. 
    
    Some more context -
    https://blog.coinkite.com/coldcard-mk3-seed-generation-warning/
    
    An exploit , likely a flaw in rng generation with lower entropy in firmware but waiting on more details from investigation, has allowed an attacker to drain what appears over ~~594 BTC~~ 1,128.49 BTC from over 500 wallets with the highest risk being  Cold Card MK2 through MK3 wallets thus far . MK1 wallets are safe. 
    
    https://coldcard-hack-tracker.vercel.app/
    
    This doesn't seem to have effected MK4 or MK5 or Q initially  because those later models used more entropy thus are much harder to attack but you need to still update the firmware and eventually migrate to a new seed regardless to be safe longterm. Hypothetically 60 to 73 bits of entropy found in the MK4,MK5 and Q seeds can be brute forced by a large GPU cluster in as soon as 1 week to centuries. Thus its best to upgrade your security on these in the next week **at the latest**. 
    
    https://blog.coinkite.com/entropy-technical-backgrounder/
    
    https://engineering.block.xyz/blog/predictable-rng-fallback-and-32-bit-reseed-in-coldcard-firmware
    
    Users using multisig created with a majority of other wallets or if you used an extended passphrase like our FAQ has always recommended should be safe although you should consider migrating in time to a new seed. 
    
    Thus if you setup a single sig wallet with Cold Card MK3, first **do not panic** as that  is when mistakes will happen. 
    
    Ideally setup a new seed on a second hardware wallet that is not an MK3 and move your bitcoin over with an onchain transaction. 
    
    Do not send your bitcoin to a hot wallet or an exchange that lacks secure U2F/FIDO 2fa 
    
    If you lack a second hardware wallet than create a extended passphrase and move your btc to a new address within that account as a temporary measure.
    
    https://coldcard.com/docs/passphrase/
    
    Please be aware that extended passphrases should be 
    

    Excerpt only. The complete copy is held offline and backs quotations on this site. The original publication remains the canonical public source.

  2. source content difference between and source content +2 -10

    Reddit no longer served one earlier question about Tails and Electrum, and a separate comment's author and body now appear deleted.

    seen · Captured here 20,763 chars
    What changed from the previous capture 12 lines
       
     [https://engineering.block.xyz/blog/predictable-rng-fallback-and-32-bit-reseed-in-coldcard-firmware](https://engineering.block.xyz/blog/predictable-rng-fallback-and-32-bit-reseed-in-coldcard-firmware)
     
    -comment: p0t0wt2
    -parent: t1_p0sivl4
    -author: ASilverSpartan
    -created_utc: 1785469295
    -edited: false
    -body:
    -Was tails electrum ever unsafe? That’s how I protect mine and it’s lasted for almost a decade now. Do I need to change my security posture?
    -
     comment: p0t53se
     parent: t1_p0soaak
     author: cilicia3k3
     
     comment: p0u14mh
     parent: t3_1vb9doi
    -author: smaakversterker
    +author: [deleted]
     created_utc: 1785485305
     edited: false
     body:
    -what about the MK1?
    +[deleted]
     
     comment: p0u2otq
     parent: t1_p0tqbhn
    
    Extracted text as captured
    post: 1vb9doi
    author: Crypto-Guide
    created_utc: 1785452914
    title: Mk3 Security Advisory
    
    comment: p0rs8pl
    parent: t3_1vb9doi
    author: bitusher
    created_utc: 1785454184
    edited: 1785605935
    body:
    Thanks for getting the word out. 
    
    Some more context -
    https://blog.coinkite.com/coldcard-mk3-seed-generation-warning/
    
    An exploit , likely a flaw in rng generation with lower entropy in firmware but waiting on more details from investigation, has allowed an attacker to drain what appears over ~~594 BTC~~ 1,128.49 BTC from over 500 wallets with the highest risk being  Cold Card MK2 through MK3 wallets thus far . MK1 wallets are safe. 
    
    https://coldcard-hack-tracker.vercel.app/
    
    This doesn't seem to have effected MK4 or MK5 or Q initially  because those later models used more entropy thus are much harder to attack but you need to still update the firmware and eventually migrate to a new seed regardless to be safe longterm. Hypothetically 60 to 73 bits of entropy found in the MK4,MK5 and Q seeds can be brute forced by a large GPU cluster in as soon as 1 week to centuries. Thus its best to upgrade your security on these in the next week **at the latest**. 
    
    https://blog.coinkite.com/entropy-technical-backgrounder/
    
    https://engineering.block.xyz/blog/predictable-rng-fallback-and-32-bit-reseed-in-coldcard-firmware
    
    Users using multisig created with a majority of other wallets or if you used an extended passphrase like our FAQ has always recommended should be safe although you should consider migrating in time to a new seed. 
    
    Thus if you setup a single sig wallet with Cold Card MK3, first **do not panic** as that  is when mistakes will happen. 
    
    Ideally setup a new seed on a second hardware wallet that is not an MK3 and move your bitcoin over with an onchain transaction. 
    
    Do not send your bitcoin to a hot wallet or an exchange that lacks secure U2F/FIDO 2fa 
    
    If you lack a second hardware wallet than create a extended passphrase and move your btc to a new address within that account as a temporary measure.
    
    https://coldcard.com/docs/passphrase/
    
    Please be aware that extended passphrases should be 
    

    Excerpt only. The complete copy is held offline and backs quotations on this site. The original publication remains the canonical public source.

  3. Earliest copy held
    seen · Captured here 21,023 chars
    Extracted text as captured
    post: 1vb9doi
    author: Crypto-Guide
    created_utc: 1785452914
    title: Mk3 Security Advisory
    
    comment: p0rs8pl
    parent: t3_1vb9doi
    author: bitusher
    created_utc: 1785454184
    edited: 1785605935
    body:
    Thanks for getting the word out. 
    
    Some more context -
    https://blog.coinkite.com/coldcard-mk3-seed-generation-warning/
    
    An exploit , likely a flaw in rng generation with lower entropy in firmware but waiting on more details from investigation, has allowed an attacker to drain what appears over ~~594 BTC~~ 1,128.49 BTC from over 500 wallets with the highest risk being  Cold Card MK2 through MK3 wallets thus far . MK1 wallets are safe. 
    
    https://coldcard-hack-tracker.vercel.app/
    
    This doesn't seem to have effected MK4 or MK5 or Q initially  because those later models used more entropy thus are much harder to attack but you need to still update the firmware and eventually migrate to a new seed regardless to be safe longterm. Hypothetically 60 to 73 bits of entropy found in the MK4,MK5 and Q seeds can be brute forced by a large GPU cluster in as soon as 1 week to centuries. Thus its best to upgrade your security on these in the next week **at the latest**. 
    
    https://blog.coinkite.com/entropy-technical-backgrounder/
    
    https://engineering.block.xyz/blog/predictable-rng-fallback-and-32-bit-reseed-in-coldcard-firmware
    
    Users using multisig created with a majority of other wallets or if you used an extended passphrase like our FAQ has always recommended should be safe although you should consider migrating in time to a new seed. 
    
    Thus if you setup a single sig wallet with Cold Card MK3, first **do not panic** as that  is when mistakes will happen. 
    
    Ideally setup a new seed on a second hardware wallet that is not an MK3 and move your bitcoin over with an onchain transaction. 
    
    Do not send your bitcoin to a hot wallet or an exchange that lacks secure U2F/FIDO 2fa 
    
    If you lack a second hardware wallet than create a extended passphrase and move your btc to a new address within that account as a temporary measure.
    
    https://coldcard.com/docs/passphrase/
    
    Please be aware that extended passphrases should be 
    

    Excerpt only. The complete copy is held offline and backs quotations on this site. The original publication remains the canonical public source.

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