Ledger’s security research team, Donjon, has identified a hardware vulnerability in the TROPIC01 chip found inside the Trezor Safe 7 hardware wallet, raising questions about supply chain security in the crypto storage industry. The disclosure, made public on June 3, 2026, followed an audit where researchers used laser fault injection to bypass signature verification on the chip.
While the flaw allows the execution of unauthorized code on the specific component, Trezor and chip manufacturer Tropic Square confirmed that user private keys and funds remain secure due to the device’s multi-layered security architecture.
The discovery represents a rare public clash between the two dominant players in the hardware wallet market. Ledger’s Donjon team targeted the TROPIC01 secure element, which is produced by Tropic Square, a sister company to Trezor. This specific chip was marketed for its transparency, featuring publicly available hardware designs and firmware source code. However, the physical audit conducted in late January 2026 revealed that the chip’s hardware defenses could be compromised under laboratory conditions.
Security analysts note that while the vulnerability is technically significant, it does not translate to an immediate threat for the average holder. The incident occurs at a time when users are increasingly sensitive to security disclosures, especially as Bitcoin price analysis shows investors are holding assets for longer periods in cold storage. Because the flaw exists at the hardware level within the silicon itself, it cannot be fixed through a traditional software or firmware update for devices already in circulation.
Laser fault injection bypasses TROPIC01 chip security
The Ledger Donjon team used a sophisticated technique known as laser fault injection to achieve the exploit. This process required the researchers to physically dismantle the Trezor Safe 7, remove the outer casing of the chip package, and aim a high-precision infrared laser at the silicon. By carefully timing the laser pulses, they were able to disrupt the chip’s internal signature verification process, tricking it into running code that was not digitally signed by the manufacturer.
Tropic Square engineers, after being notified of the flaw, conducted their own investigation and identified a secondary, related attack path. This additional exploit could potentially be used to extract a specific secret linked to the device’s PIN protection. Despite these findings, the manufacturer maintains that the exploit is “highly impractical” for any thief in the real world. A successful attack requires expensive laboratory equipment, deep technical expertise, and uninterrupted physical access to the target device.
Most everyday users face much simpler risks than high-end laboratory attacks. As fraudulent recovery schemes proliferate across the industry, experts argue that social engineering remains a far more potent threat than laser-based hardware exploits. The Trezor Safe 7 was designed with these physical threats in mind, utilizing a “defense-in-depth” strategy to ensure that even if one component is compromised, the broader system remains intact.
Trezor maintains user funds remain protected by redundant layers
The fundamental reason user funds are not at risk lies in the Safe 7’s three-layer security model. Trezor clarified that the TROPIC01 chip is only one of these independent layers and is not the primary storage location for a user’s private keys or seed phrase backups. Because these critical secrets are kept in separate, isolated environments within the device, gaining control over the TROPIC01 chip does not grant an attacker the ability to sign transactions or steal assets.
Tropic Square has already moved to mitigate the issue by starting production on a new batch of chips that addresses the signature verification flaw. For current owners of the Trezor Safe 7, the company has stated that no action is required. They do not recommend replacing the devices, citing the extreme difficulty of the exploit and the fact that the underlying wallet architecture was designed to survive the failure of a single security component.
The broader crypto market continues to see shifts in how users manage their digital wealth, with Bitcoin exchange supply hitting multi-year lows as more investors move toward self-custody solutions like Trezor and Ledger. This trend makes hardware security disclosures particularly sensitive, as any perceived weakness can shake confidence in the very tools meant to provide the highest level of protection.
Assessing the practical risks of hardware wallet vulnerabilities
Industry experts have weighed in on the Ledger audit, generally agreeing that the risk to the public is minimal. CEO Deddy Lavid of blockchain security firm Cyvers pointed out that hardware security cannot be judged solely by whether a chip can be cracked in a controlled lab environment. From a practical standpoint, the barrier to entry for a laser fault injection attack is so high that it is virtually non-existent for the general population of crypto users.
In his assessment, threats like phishing, the theft of physical seed phrases, and blind-signing malicious smart contracts remain the primary vectors for losing funds. These methods do not require lasers or clean rooms; they simply require a lapse in user judgment. The disclosure serves more as a technical milestone for Tropic Square to improve its future hardware than a warning for current Trezor users to abandon their wallets.
Looking ahead, the collaboration—even if competitive—between Ledger and Trezor researchers highlights a maturing industry where peer review is becoming standard. While the two companies are fierce rivals in the marketplace, the disclosure of the TROPIC01 flaw ensures that future generations of hardware wallets will be more resilient against physical tampering, further securing the decentralized financial ecosystem.
