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Moderate 53 Bitcoin

merge branch "lightning: fix anchor channel backup"

Public commit record

What the developer wrote

Authored by SomberNight

81/100 · Strong
merge branch "lightning: fix anchor channel backup"

(PR https://github.com/spesmilo/electrum/pull/10852)

Add missing information to lightning channel backup so users of non-deterministic
lightning wallets trying to recover anchor channels are able to sweep the to_remote
output of a remote ctx.

Also shows a warning to affected users, urging them to export a new backup.

Fixes https://github.com/spesmilo/electrum/issues/10785
✓ Specific, descriptive subject✓ Names a concrete action or component✓ Provides detailed explanatory context✓ Links an issue, advisory, or supporting reference
The short version

What changed, and why it matters

This commit fixes a bug in Electrum's Lightning channel backups for 'anchor' channels. Previously, the backup did not store enough secret key information, so users with non-deterministic Lightning wallets who restored from a backup could not recover funds if the remote party force-closed the channel. The fix adds a new backup version (v3) that includes the needed private key and warns users with older backups to export fresh ones. It is a recovery/bug-fix patch, not an exploitable vulnerability in live software.

Recommended action

Users with non-deterministic Lightning wallets and anchor channels should export fresh channel backups after upgrading to the fixed Electrum version. Operators should ensure backups are upgraded and heed the startup warnings. No immediate live-network mitigation is required because the issue affects recovery after data loss, not an in-memory exploit.

Security signals we found

01

Fixes incomplete backup data that could prevent fund recovery after remote force-close

02

Adds user-facing warnings for outdated/unusable channel backups

03

Changes backup serialization format and version

04

Adds private key material (payment_basepoint privkey) to anchor channel backups

05

Prevents downgrade to older backup versions

06

Refactors integer-to-minimal-byte utilities (no direct security impact)

Risk score

Why this scored 53/100

Our methodology →
Potential impact 18/30
Exploitability 5/25
Stealth signal 8/15
Affected reach 10/15
Confidence 8/10
Evidence quality 4/5
Human-validated context

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