NEAR Founder Warns of Software Risks, Urges AI Defenses

NEAR Protocol co-founder Illia Polosukhin warned that widespread software vulnerabilities across internet infrastructure pose severe risks, calling for artificial intelligence defenses and cryptographic authentication. In an Oct. 22 statement on X, Polosukhin labeled the current environment a "Security Armageddon," pointing to architectural weaknesses in widely used software components, while NEAR Protocol ($NEAR) traded down 3.61% at $5.02.

Software Infrastructure Under Scrutiny

Polosukhin highlighted legacy software dependencies, specifically pointing to PHP-based systems such as WordPress, alongside Node.js, LiteLLM, and malicious TLS certificates. Recent industry advisories substantiate several of these concerns, according to CryptoNews. On Sept. 24, PHP maintainers released an advisory addressing a memory-handling flaw tied to TLS certificate names in OpenSSL integration.

Separately, maintainers of the Node.js networking library Undici disclosed certificate validation and denial-of-service vulnerabilities on Oct. 15. LiteLLM maintainers also previously documented an issue allowing authenticated users to alter routing parameters and expose credentials. Polosukhin warned that flaws in single software modules can compromise interconnected web applications.

Call for AI Verification and Cryptographic Keys

To counter mounting threats, Polosukhin proposed deploying uncensored AI models to assist security teams in threat detection and vulnerability remediation. He also endorsed formal verification—mathematical proofs that confirm software code adheres strictly to functional specifications.

On Oct. 19, NEAR published research demonstrating an AI agent solving 672 mathematical proof problems at an estimated computational cost of $111.85. Beyond auditing, Polosukhin advocated replacing traditional API keys and tokens with cryptographic authentication and isolated hosting architectures. The recommendations follow an Oct. 1 exploit of NEAR Intents that drained $3.8 million in USDT on BNB Smart Chain before operators patched the flaw.

Key facts

• NEAR co-founder Illia Polosukhin described current web software vulnerabilities as "Security Armageddon."
• Polosukhin cited risks across PHP, Node.js networking tools, TLS certificates, and LiteLLM.
• NEAR research demonstrated an AI agent solving 672 mathematical proofs for formal verification at a $111.85 model cost.
• NEAR traded around $5.02, with futures open interest dropping 7.45% to $1.50 billion.