As Ethereum approaches its Pectra upgrade, co-founder Vitalik Buterin addressed mounting concerns around EIP-7702, a feature allowing temporary smart contract behavior for EOAs.
The response came after a community member shared concerns on X about potential vulnerabilities, calling EIP-7702 a risk to users due to unchecked delegation permissions.
Delegation Without Safeguards Could Lead to Major Exploits
The original criticism pointed to a flaw in wallet behavior: while they may block harmful domains, they do not prevent users from unintentionally delegating to malicious smart contracts.
“This could enable one-signature full portfolio loss,” the post stated.
Buterin’s Guidance: Limit Delegation to One Secure Contract
Buterin addressed the feedback via Warpcast, recommending that users delegate only to one thoroughly reviewed contract to avoid dangerous outcomes.
“Use a single, audited contract approved by the wallet team and the community,” he advised.
How EIP-7702 Works: Temporary Smart Contract Privileges for EOAs
EIP-7702 allows EOAs to momentarily behave as smart contract wallets, executing complex operations like gasless transactions and batch functions within a single transaction.
After the transaction completes, the account returns to its standard EOA format, offering flexibility while preserving backward compatibility.
Security Experts Urge Caution with Delegated Logic
While EIP-7702 offers more power and ease, it also introduces new attack vectors. Bad actors could deploy contracts that appear safe at first, but contain delayed execution logic that enables phishing or fund siphoning after delegation.
This risk underscores the need for contract-level audits and strong wallet-side vetting procedures.
Ethereum Pectra Release Date Moved Up to April 21
Ethereum’s Pectra upgrade, including EIP-7702, will now roll out on April 21, earlier than the original May 7 target, per Ethereum’s core developer team.
The full upgrade package is designed to boost Layer 2 integration, reduce congestion, and enhance the overall user experience on Ethereum.
EIP-7702 was co-developed by Vitalik Buterin, Ansgar Dietrich, Matt Garnett, and Sam Wilson to bridge the gap between smart contract wallets and traditional EOAs.
