What Is ‘Transaction Malleability’?
Transaction malleability is a vulnerability that allows a third party to alter the unique identifier (transaction hash) of a transaction before it is confirmed on the blockchain, without changing the transaction's contents (who pays whom). This can cause issues for systems that rely on the original hash, potentially leading to double-spending attempts in certain setups.
Glossar
Malleability Attack Risk
Manipulation ⎊ Malleability Attack Risk refers to the vulnerability where a third party can modify the non-essential data within a valid transaction, such as the signature script, resulting in a different Transaction Identification Code (TXID) before the transaction is permanently recorded on the blockchain.
SegWit Benefits
Scalability ⎊ SegWit fundamentally addresses Bitcoin’s block size limitations by altering transaction data structure, reducing transaction sizes and increasing the number of transactions per block.
Bitcoin Protocol Changes
Protocol ⎊ Bitcoin protocol changes, within the context of cryptocurrency derivatives, represent modifications to the underlying rules governing the Bitcoin network.
Cryptographic Vulnerabilities
Exploit ⎊ Cryptographic vulnerabilities within cryptocurrency, options trading, and financial derivatives represent potential pathways for unauthorized access, manipulation, or disruption of systems.
Transaction Malleability Attack
Attack ⎊ A Transaction Malleability Attack is a class of exploit where an unauthorized party modifies the non-essential data within a valid, unconfirmed transaction, such as the digital signature's encoding, to generate a new, valid transaction identifier (TxID).
TXID Alteration
Malleability ⎊ TXID alteration is fundamentally linked to transaction malleability, a technical characteristic where a third party could modify non-essential parts of a signed transaction before confirmation, thereby changing its unique transaction ID.
Transaction Dependency
Condition ⎊ : This concept describes a state where the successful inclusion and execution of one transaction is a necessary condition for the validity of a subsequent transaction, often seen in multi-step option strategies or collateral management.
Exchange Security Risks
Threat ⎊ The primary threat to exchange security is the potential for large-scale theft of digital assets held in hot or cold wallets, often executed through sophisticated phishing campaigns or direct exploitation of software vulnerabilities.
Addressing Vulnerabilities
Countermeasure ⎊ This concept involves the systematic identification and implementation of controls to reduce potential exposure arising from systemic weaknesses in crypto derivative platforms or options trading protocols.
Transaction Hash
Provenance ⎊ A transaction hash, within cryptocurrency and derivative markets, functions as a cryptographically secured record of a specific state change on a distributed ledger, establishing an immutable audit trail.