Aerodrome, the largest decentralized exchange (DEX) based on the Ethereum Layer 2 network, reported a suspected front-end compromise on Saturday, November 22. In the early hours of the weekend, the project revealed it was investigating an attack and asked users to avoid their centralized domains.
Dromos Labs sister protocols hit by another DNS hijack
On Saturday, Aerodrome took to social media platform X to report its ongoing investigation into a DNS hack of its centralized domains. While assuring users that all smart contracts remain secure, the project has required users to access the DEX through its decentralized mirror.
As a reminder, a DNS hijack allows an attacker or malicious actor to manipulate the Domain Name System (DNS) in order to redirect users from a legitimate website to a malicious site. In essence, this compromise redirected Base-Native Airfield users to a fraudulent website on Wednesday.
It appears that the decentralized exchange’s problem may lie with its domain provider. Earlier today, Aerodrome visited Platform X to inform Web3 domain provider My.box that their infrastructure had likely been compromised and to contact them.
Source: @AerodromeFi on X
Aerodrome, domiciled in its base, is not the only decentralized exchange affected by this DNS hijacking, as its sister protocol Velodrome appears to be facing a similar problem. Velodrome, the largest decentralized exchange on Optimism, has also reported that it is exploring a similar front-end compromise.
Interestingly, this latest DNS hijack comes about two years after a similar attack affected users’ ability to access the two decentralized exchanges in November 2023. Blockchain detective ZachXBT, at the time, estimated the loss from the 2023 attack to be around $100,000.
According to DefiLlama data, approximately $399.17 million worth is stuck at the airfield, reflecting a decline of nearly 4% since the DNS hijacking. Meanwhile, Vélodrome’s TVL stands at approximately $49.74 million.
Aero and Vélodrome will become a unified platform in 2026
The timing of this DNS attack is rather interesting, especially since Dromos Labs, the development company behind the Base-native-based Aerodrome and the Optimism-based Velodrome, recently revealed plans to consolidate the two protocols into a mall called “Aero.”
This development will also unify the protocols’ existing tokens into a single AERO token, Dromos further revealed. Aero Mall is expected to launch for the first time on the Ethereum mainnet and Circle’s Arc blockchain in Q2 2026.
The price of AERO on the daily timeframe | Source: AEROUSDT chart on TradingView
Featured image from Medium, chart from TradingView
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