MANTRA Chain Halts Mainnet After Attacker Exploits Upstream Dependency Flaw

Highlights:

• MANTRA Chain halted its mainnet after a security incident stopped transactions and affected several network services.
• The team later said an attacker exploited an upstream dependency flaw and is now preparing a patch.
• Deposits and withdrawals remain paused while MANTRA traces fund movements and works with validators on a restart.

MANTRA Chain has halted its mainnet after detecting a security incident that stopped transactions across the network. The team initially said all endpoints and transactions had been frozen as a precaution, temporarily affecting deposits and withdrawals connected to MANTRA Chain.

MANTRA disclosed the incident on August 21 through its official X account. At that stage, the project said it was still investigating and did not yet have a confirmed root cause or recovery timeline. Users were advised to avoid making uncertain transactions and rely only on official MANTRA channels for updates.

We're aware of an incident affecting MANTRA Chain and have halted the chain as a precaution while we investigate. All endpoints and transactions are currently frozen.

This means deposits and withdrawals to/from MANTRA Chain are temporarily affected. If you're unsure how this…

— MANTRA | The EVM L1 for RWAs (@MANTRA_Chain) August 21, 2026

MANTRA Identifies Vulnerability Behind Chain Halt

A later update on MANTRA’s official status page provided more detail. The team said it had detected an attacker exploiting a vulnerability in an “upstream dependency” used by the blockchain. An upstream dependency is software or infrastructure that another system relies on to operate.

MANTRA said the network halt prevents transactions from being processed, meaning assets cannot move on the chain while the shutdown remains in place. The project has identified the vulnerability and is preparing a patched software release. MANTRA’s own validators and infrastructure remain offline until the upgrade is ready. Restarting the network will also require coordination with the wider validator set. The team said it “will not resume until the patch is verified” and the necessary coordination is complete.

The incident is also affecting several services linked to the network. MANTRA’s status page lists blockchain public endpoints, MANTRA Chain validators, MANTRA Bridge Ops: Migrate, and MANTRA-managed IBC relays among the affected components.

MANTRA Pauses Deposits and Withdrawals as It Investigates the Incident

MANTRA also said it is tracing the movement of funds and working with exchange partners. Deposits and withdrawals for MANTRA remain paused on affected trading venues until the blockchain resumes operations.

MANTRA has not yet confirmed the full impact of the incident or disclosed any confirmed losses. The team said it is still assessing what happened and tracing fund movements, so there is no verified figure for affected assets at this stage. For now, MANTRA says users do not need to take any action. It also warned the community to avoid anyone offering recovery or support services and to rely only on official updates while the investigation continues.

MANTRA is now testing a fix and working with validators to restart the network safely. Transactions will stay paused until that work is complete, while deposits and withdrawals on affected platforms will also remain unavailable. The team said it will share further updates through its official channels once it has confirmed more details.

At the time of writing, MANTRA was trading at around $0.00453, down about 9% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap.