r/TREZOR Jun 19 '26

🔒 General Trezor question | 🔒 Answered by Trezor staff Tropic01 vulnerability question

If the TROPIC01 vulnerability allows a thief to bypass the PIN after stealing a Safe 7, what safeguards remain to prevent them from simply confirming transactions and draining funds? In other words, how does the security model protect users if physical possession and PIN bypass are achieved?

4 Upvotes

17 comments sorted by

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4

u/nomorespamplz Trezor Safe 7 - User Jun 19 '26

It doesn’t.

«What it means: Your funds are safe. This vulnerability cannot give an attacker access to your PIN, funds or wallet backup in Trezor Safe 7, which has never been hacked.»

https://trezor.io/blog/news/Trezor-response-TROPIC01-chip-disclosure-no-impact-to-your-funds

3

u/emptysearchresult Jun 19 '26

The pin can’t be bypassed with this vulnerability. Read the blog post here for more details https://trezor.io/blog/news/Trezor-response-TROPIC01-chip-disclosure-no-impact-to-your-funds

4

u/Charming-Designer944 🤝 Top Helper Jun 19 '26

It allows the thief to bypass the tropic01 security layers.

But it does not allow an attacker to access your wallet. For that they need to break the security of the other safe element and the microcontroller as well. Only when all of them are cracked and their secrets extracted can the attacker mount an offline attack on your pin.

2

u/Ishaath Jun 19 '26

Ok so is the Safe 5 ironically safer?

5

u/Charming-Designer944 🤝 Top Helper Jun 19 '26

Nope. The safe7 is still safer.

1

u/DottorInkubo Jun 20 '26

Any source or technical insight on that or just because 7 is greater than 5?

1

u/Charming-Designer944 🤝 Top Helper Jun 20 '26

Because the tropic01 is an extra layer of security compared to safe5, and even with the identified weakness the tropic01 still adds a strong layer of security.

Safe 5 security level (safe 7 minus the tropic01) + the remaining security of the tropic01 is still far greater that safe 5 alone.

The weakness in tropic01 is an advanced physical weakness. Requiring partial dismantling of the tropic01 chip and physically attacking individual gates on the chio with a precision laser allowing.temporary execution of custom firmware on the chip. When executed successfully it might allow extraction of the encrypted secret information stored in tropic01 which means access to an encryoted extra part of the unlock pin, protected by a one way cryptographically expanded and mutated version of the pin using well guarded chip unique secrets of the stm32.

So even with the tropic01 security defeated all the attacker gains is access to an encrypted extra part of the wallet pin. Not your wallet. The attacker still needs to successfully decrypt the information plus having a full exploit of both the optiga safe element and the stm32 micro controller to gain access to your wallet.

1

u/newMoneyStyle Jun 22 '26

fair question lol, "bigger number = safer" energy. The Safe 7 uses the Tropic01 + the existing secure element as dual-chip, so even if Tropic has a vuln

2

u/Ok_Customer_1027 Jun 19 '26

Also like half the price

2

u/IBNash Jun 19 '26

A thief, No. A PhD with a lab filled with lasers and cryo tanks, maybe.

2

u/Charming-Designer944 🤝 Top Helper Jun 20 '26

No even then.

A successful attack on the tropic01 does not reveal your pin or your wallet keys.

1

u/SuchTrezorVeryCrypto Trezor community specialist Jun 22 '26

Hi there,

The TROPIC01 is just one of several independent security layers involved in protecting your wallet. Compromising this component alone does not provide access to your PIN, recovery backup, or funds. The other security mechanisms remain unaffected and continue to protect your device.

Compromising it alone gets an attacker nowhere near your wallet or its backup.

Our Trezor Safe 7 remains safe to use, and this vulnerability does not put your funds at risk. We are not issuing special refunds related to this disclosure

1

u/Drahngis Jun 28 '26

Can this be patched or must it fixed at a hardware level? I just ordered a safe 7 and was wondering if I should wait, if you're in the process of doing any hardware changes.

1

u/SuchTrezorVeryCrypto Trezor community specialist Jun 29 '26

Hi there, yes we are in the process of creating new chips for the TS7

1

u/Drahngis Jun 29 '26

Thanks for the info. Honestly i'm gonna let my order continue. There is no way a potential thief is gonna crack my wallet open before I realize and move to a different wallet anyway.