Timestamp Manipulation: Timestamp-based Nakamoto-style Blockchains are Vulnerable

We introduce two advanced attack strategies, the Unrestricted Uncle Maker (UUM) Attack and the Staircase-Unrestricted Uncle Maker (SUUM) Attack, which fundamentally threaten the security of timestamp-based Nakamoto-style blockchains by inflicting permanent systemic harm. Unlike prior work that merely enhances adversarial rewards, these attacks exploit vulnerabilities in timestamp manipulation and fork selection rules to irreversibly destabilize blockchain fairness and incentive mechanisms. Specifically, the SUUM attack enables adversaries to persistently launch attacks at zero cost, eliminating constraints on block withholding and risk-free conditions, while systematically maximizing rewards through coordinated timestamp adjustments and strategic block release.Our analysis demonstrates that SUUM adversaries achieve disproportionate reward advantages over both UUM and the original Riskless Uncle Maker (RUM) Attack [CCS '23], with all three strategies surpassing honest mining. Crucially, SUUM's cost-free persistence allows adversaries to indefinitely drain rewards from honest participants by maintaining minimal difficulty risks through precise timestamp manipulation. This creates a self-reinforcing cycle: adversaries amplify their profits while suppressing honest returns, thereby permanently eroding the protocol's security assumptions. Through rigorous theoretical modeling and simulations, we validate how SUUM's combination of timestamp tampering, block withholding, and difficulty risk control enables unmitigated exploitation of consensus mechanisms. This work underscores the existential risks posed by timestamp-based Nakamoto-style protocols and advocates urgent countermeasures to ensure long-term stability.

@article{hu2025_2505.05328,
  title={ Timestamp Manipulation: Timestamp-based Nakamoto-style Blockchains are Vulnerable },
  author={ Junjie Hu and Na Ruan },
  journal={arXiv preprint arXiv:2505.05328},
  year={ 2025 }
}