Breakage analysis per dependency
Axelar Network's assessment for RD-F-052 — scored yellow on the v1.7.0 rubric. The evidence below is the curator's reasoning for this score.
Evidence summary #
Breakage analysis: (1) Cosmos chain halt — all bridge ops stop; source-chain gateway funds locked until chain recovers; no estimated recovery timeline. (2) Validator compromise above 40% weighted quorum — forged commands possible; mintLimiter rate-limits per-epoch damage to configured per-symbol caps. (3) Custom 3-of-6 Multisig compromise — mintLimiter reconfigurable, rate limits can be disabled or bypassed. (4) InterchainGovernance failure — EVM-side parameter updates blocked; 7-day delay acts as safe default; Cosmos governance still functional. (5) Auth module bug in AxelarAuthWeighted — proof validation fails or is bypassed; full bridge fund risk for locked TVL ($144.73M). Yellow because validator-set compromise scenario has meaningful (though non-trivial) attack complexity.
Sources #
- URLAxelar Network Cross-Chain Halt Vulnerability Disclosure 20242024 vulnerability disclosure: chain-halt vector via validator auto-deregistration; $50K bounty paid; resolved via governance proposal 256retrieved 2026-05-17
- AxelarAuthWeighted.sol — bridge proof validationAxelarAuthWeighted.sol validateProof() — proof validation path; threshold check in _validateSignatures()retrieved 2026-05-17
Methodology #
Produce a short per-dependency text describing which protocol functions halt or degrade and impact severity if each declared dependency fails.
See the full factor methodology and distribution across all protocols →