Cardano Warns of Linux Bug Affecting 21.5 Billion ADA
The vulnerability affects Linux servers run by pool operators, while about 21.5 billion ADA is staked. Cardano says the coins stay in wallets, but rewards could still come under pressure.
Key Takeaways
- Cardano is warning pool operators about a critical Linux bug with a severity score of 9.8 that could crash or take over servers.
- About 21.5 billion ADA, around 58% of the circulating supply, is staked; no attacks on Cardano pools have been reported yet.
- The bug mainly affects staking infrastructure: ADA stays in the wallet, but poorly running pools could generate fewer rewards.
Cardano has warned pool operators about a critical Linux bug that could affect servers helping run the network. The warning comes at a time when about 21.5 billion ADA, worth around 58% of the circulating supply, is staked. So far, there have been no reports of an attack on Cardano pools.
What the Bug Can Do
The vulnerability, CVE-2026-98432, received a severity score of 9.8 out of 10. According to Cardano and the broader Linux context, it is a flaw in the kernel's network handling, which could let specially crafted internet requests crash a server or, in some cases, even take it over without a password. Anthropic previously said that Claude had developed a proof of concept against servers with multipath TCP, a network feature used in some configurations.
For Cardano, the key point is that many block-producing servers run on Linux. If one of those servers goes down, a pool may produce fewer blocks and therefore pay out fewer rewards. Cardano does stress, though, that ADA itself stays in the wallet and does not disappear from the holder's control.
What This Means for Stakers
So the warning is not about direct coin theft, but about the infrastructure behind staking. Cardano says your ADA stays in your wallet and can be traded or moved at any time. That makes the impact different from an attack on an exchange or a wallet with private keys.
A poorly running pool can still become less efficient. Cardano says bad pool performance lowers the number of rewards for the pool and its delegators. There are still no stolen funds or direct reward losses linked to this bug.
Patches Are Rolling Out Unevenly
Intersect has called on operators to check their servers, then update and restart them. Based on the available information, patches are not available everywhere at the same time, which means some systems are protected sooner than others. The vulnerability also affects a broad range of Linux systems, which adds to the attention around this warning.
For European crypto investors, this is especially relevant because staking is often seen as a relatively passive way to hold ADA. This warning shows that the risks are not only tied to the token itself, but also to the software and servers that keep the infrastructure running. Last year, another bug briefly caused a split of Cardano into two chains, without any user funds being lost. An earlier ADA theft through wallet software also showed that vulnerabilities around Cardano are not always in the network itself, but sometimes in the software around it.
