Vulnerability found in MediaTek chips…crypto wallet seed phrases could be stolen in 45 seconds

A security vulnerability that could allow attackers to steal crypto wallet seed phrases has been discovered in chipsets made by mobile chipmaker MediaTek, and the company appears to have fixed it via a patch.

According to Cointelegraph on the 11th (local time), Donjon, the security research team at crypto hardware wallet maker Ledger, said it had found a vulnerability in MediaTek chips’ secure boot system.

Ledger explained that the flaw stemmed from the structure of MediaTek’s secure boot chain, a security mechanism that ensures only authorized software runs when a smartphone boots.

The research team said that if an attacker can gain physical access to a smartphone, they can use a USB cable to bypass security protections and extract sensitive data. In the process, critical information such as crypto wallet seed phrases could also be stolen.

Ledger said that during testing it connected a Nothing CMF Phone 1 to a laptop and succeeded in compromising the device’s security in about 45 seconds. The team said it was able to recover the PIN code and decrypt stored data even without booting the Android operating system, then extract seed phrases from multiple software wallets.

In the attack demonstration, seed information was reportedly extractable from major mobile wallets including Trust Wallet, Base, Kraken Wallet, Rabby, Tangem mobile wallet and Phantom.

Ledger said it had reported the issue to MediaTek, and MediaTek stated that it distributed a security patch on Jan. 5 this year to fix the problem. It stressed, however, that users who have not applied the latest security update may still be at risk and need to install the update.

Ledger Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Charles Guillemet said, “Smartphones are inherently designed around convenience rather than security,” adding that “even when powered off, a PIN or seed information can be extracted in under a minute.”

He added, “A Secure Element is designed to protect private keys in an environment isolated from other parts of the system, providing stronger protection even in the event of a physical attack.”