Gno GovDAO Critical Security Exploit

Critical vulnerability discovered in Gno’s governance system allowing complete takeover.

Exploit Details

Severity Assessment

• CVSS Score: 10.0 (Critical)
• Attack Vector: Spoofed governance proposal
• Impact: Full control over governance, validator set, and funds

Attack Steps

1. Create exploit realm - Attacker deploys malicious realm
2. Submit spoofed proposal - Disguised as legitimate governance action
3. Social engineering - Trick govdao voters into approval
4. Execute proposal - Add malicious realm to AllowedDAOs list
5. Update implementation - Use UpdateImpl for full control

Attack Surface

• Exposed AllowedDAOs list allows arbitrary updates
• Lack of visibility into executor code in proposals
• No permissioned executor pattern

Recommended Patches

Immediate Fixes

• Remove arbitrary AllowedDAOs update capability
• Add mandatory visibility/auditing for proposal executor code
• Implement “approved actions” whitelist pattern

Architectural Improvements

• Permissioned executor with predefined action types
• Multi-signature requirements for critical operations
• Time-delayed execution for governance changes

Business Impact

This exploit was discovered during Gno fork analysis and influenced the decision to:

• Start fresh with new codebase rather than forking existing Gno
• Prioritize security-first governance design
• Avoid complex multi-tier governance structures

See also

• p/nt/gno-govdao
• p/nt/gno
• p/amigos/gno-heritage