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Garden Finance has disabled its app after an attacker compromised the off-chain database of an independent solver and caused about $450,000 in USDT to be released through fraudulent swap records.
Blockaid first described the incident as an active drain from Garden’s hash time-locked contracts across Ethereum, Base, Arbitrum and BNB Smart Chain. Garden later said its protocol contracts worked as intended and that no user funds were lost or placed at risk.
Fraudulent Records Triggered $450K in Unfunded Swap Releases
Garden said the attacker gained access to a solver’s database and inserted false transaction records. Those entries caused the solver to release assets for swaps even though the counterparty had not supplied the matching funds.
The affected assets belonged to the solver, one of the independent operators that execute swaps through Garden. The company is still confirming the total loss, the assets taken, and every network involved, leaving Blockaid’s roughly $450,000 estimate as the current public figure.
Garden Says Protocol Contracts and User Funds Were Unaffected
Garden said the incident did not compromise its protocol contracts or user funds. That distinction separates the latest breach from a direct smart-contract exploit against Garden’s core infrastructure.
The affected solver held its own liquidity and released assets based on fraudulent off-chain records. Garden said the protocol’s contracts processed the transactions as designed once the solver’s records triggered the releases.
App Remains Offline During Security Review
Garden took its interface offline after detecting unusual activity on July 26. Engineers isolated the affected infrastructure and began reviewing the incident before allowing users to resume swaps.
The company has engaged zeroShadow, Quantstamp and Blockaid to trace the stolen assets and support recovery work. Garden has not announced when the app will return. Services will resume only after the required security checks are completed.
Second Solver Breach Follows $11.4M Loss in 2025
The incident follows an October 2025 breach that cost another Garden solver about $11.4 million. Garden said that attack also targeted a solver’s operating environment rather than its smart contracts and did not expose user funds.
The repeated focus on solver infrastructure points to a security challenge outside Garden’s core contracts.
Solvers hold their own liquidity so they can complete cross-chain swaps quickly, making their databases, signing systems and operational controls potential targets even when protocol code remains intact.
Final Loss and Affected Networks Remain Unconfirmed
Garden’s next update is expected to confirm the final loss, identify the affected networks and explain what safeguards will be required before the app reopens.
Until then, the public loss figure remains Blockaid’s estimate, while Garden’s investigation focuses on the compromised solver infrastructure and recovery of the stolen assets.
