Byzantine Attacks Exploiting Penalties in Ethereum PoS

arXiv:2404.16363v1 Announce Type: new
Abstract: In May 2023, the Ethereum blockchain experienced its first inactivity leak, a mechanism designed to reinstate chain finalization amid persistent network disruptions. This mechanism aims to reduce the voting power of validators who are unreachable within the network, reallocating this power to active validators. This paper investigates the implications of the inactivity leak on safety within the Ethereum blockchain. Our theoretical analysis reveals scenarios where actions by Byzantine validators expedite the finalization of two conflicting …

arxiv attacks blockchain cs.cr cs.dc disruptions ethereum exploiting leak may may 2023 mechanism network penalties persistent pos power voting