The XRP Ledger Foundation disclosed that a software flaw could have let an attacker create new XRP beyond the network’s fixed 100 billion supply. The bug stayed in the ledger for more than a decade, according to the foundation, because ordinary payments never came close to triggering it. No new XRP was minted, and RippleX says it has shipped a fix. About 99.986 billion XRP remain in circulation.
What the bug did
The problem was an integer overflow. In simple terms, it worked like an old arcade scoreboard that rolls back to zero after reaching its maximum number. If a transaction went past the ledger’s largest allowed value, the number wrapped around to a tiny amount. That could bypass normal balance checks.
In a worst-case scenario, an attacker could have used dummy accounts to list fake sales for huge amounts of XRP. Acting as the buyer, the attacker could have paid a tiny amount while the ledger credited the seller accounts with billions of valid XRP. The system would have treated the buyer’s cost as only a fraction of a cent. The difference would have been created out of nothing, potentially letting the attacker sell those coins on outside exchanges.
The flaw mattered because XRP was designed so no new tokens can ever be issued. That cap is a core rule for holders and for the ledger’s role as a bridge currency and fee token.
Why it stayed hidden
The foundation said the bug required hundreds of deliberately built operations. A normal payment would not have tripped it. The flaw is believed to have existed since 2015, which helps explain why it sat unnoticed. The issue was found on Sept. 22 by researcher Cayden Liao and Veria AI, then reported internally.
RippleX developed and released the fix. The foundation and RippleX both said there was no damage to the network or to XRP holders. No extra XRP entered circulation.
What comes next
The disclosure is a reminder that old code can carry old risks, even on a blockchain with a simple supply rule. XRP Ledger validators and node operators will need to confirm they are running updated software. For users, the practical advice is unchanged: check that wallets and services rely on patched versions.
It is not clear whether the bug was ever exploited before the fix. The foundation says no new XRP was created, and current supply figures do not show an obvious break. Still, the case shows why rare edge cases can sit quietly for years until someone looks for them.
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