A maximal extractable value (MEV) bot suffered a significant loss of approximately $180,000 in Ethereum following an exploit leveraging a vulnerability in its access control system. Blockchain security firm SlowMist revealed that the MEV bot lost 116.7 ETH due to inadequate access controls. Threat researcher Vladimir Sobolev, known as Officer’s Notes on X, reported that the attacker exploited a flaw within the bot’s system, ultimately forcing it to swap its ETH for a fake token via a malicious pool created by the attacker during a single transaction. exacerbated by the MEV owner’s swift action. They proposed a bounty to the attacker after only 25 minutes of exploitation. This led to the deployment of a new MEV bot with stricter access control validation measures. Sobolev drew parallels between this incident and another in 2023, where MEV bots lost $25 million due to similar exploits. In April 2023, rogue validators exploited MEV bots, resulting in these bots losing millions of dollars. MEV bots are notorious for their ability to profit from block-producing transactions through reordering, insertion, or censorship of transactions within a block. These bots exploit the high-demand periods during which they can use arbitrage strategies to make profits. However, they have drawn controversy due to their potential to negatively impact regular users’ experience by stealing value during periods of volatility or congestion. Despite the ongoing controversy surrounding MEV bots and some scams linked to them, many still utilize these bots for financial gains. However, individuals who are new to this domain often fall victim to malicious tutorials that promise easy money from MEV bot platforms. The emergence of fraudulent MEV bot tutorials posing as legitimate instructions has also heightened concerns about their role in the cryptocurrency space, with experts urging caution and diligence to avoid becoming victims of fraud. Sobolev advised users to thoroughly vet their resources before engaging in any activity related to MEV bots.