Ethereum's Vitalik Buterin Warns: Stick to Audited Contracts Amid EIP-7702 Security Fears

Buterin's Urgent Advice on Warpcast

Holy smokes, Ethereum's brainchild, Vitalik Buterin, isn't pulling any punches! He's blasting a wake-up call to the Ethereum (ETH) community through the decentralized social media platform Warpcast. The reason? Serious security concerns sparked by the latest upgrade, EIP-7702. One sharp-eyed user was echoing the worries of X user @nftchance, slamming EIP-7702 as "non-viable."

The Dark Side of EIP-7702

Listen up, folks - this user isn't messing around. They're pointing out that while wallets are busy blocking seemingly harmless websites, they're still letting potentially shady contracts slip through the cracks. This could leave users wide open to phishing and other cyber nightmares.

And get this - the user on X didn't hold back, saying, "Meanwhile they're going to allow arbitrary delegation that can result in complete portfolio loss in one signature."

Buterin's Battle Plan

But Vitalik Buterin isn't one to shy away from a challenge. He's stepping up with a game plan to tackle these risks head-on. His advice? Stick to audited contracts like your life depends on it. "The right way to use [EIP] 7702 is to delegate exactly one contract that is well reviewed by the wallet team and the Ethereum community, and have that contract implement the remaining logic in a safe way," he declared on Warpcast.

EIP-7702: A Double-Edged Sword

So, what's the deal with EIP-7702? It's rolling out a slick new transaction feature, letting Externally Owned Accounts (EOAs) temporarily morph into smart contract accounts for a single transaction. This means users can pull off some seriously advanced moves like gas sponsorships, batch transactions, and custom logic execution without permanently changing their account structure.

But here's the catch - while this upgrade is all about making things easier and more flexible, it's also opening the door to some serious security risks. We're talking about attackers crafting contracts that look safe on the surface but are hiding some nasty surprises waiting to be sprung.

The Phishing Fear

And the community's not just worried - they're downright scared. The fear is that under this new upgrade, users could be tricked into handing over control to fraudulent contracts, leaving them vulnerable to phishing attacks.

The Pectra Upgrade: A Race Against Time

EIP-7702 is just one piece of the puzzle in the broader Pectra upgrade, which was supposed to hit the Ethereum mainnet on May 7. But hold onto your hats - the latest Ethereum Execution Layer Core Developers Meeting spilled the beans that the Pectra client upgrade is now set to launch on April 21, bringing EIP-7702 for delegated state to JSON-RPC.

The Masterminds Behind EIP-7702

And who's behind this game-changing proposal? None other than Vitalik Buterin himself, teaming up with Ansgar Dietrich, Matt Garnett, and Sam Wilson to create a better synergy with smart contract capabilities.