Trezor Confirms Three CryptoBilis-Sold Safe 5 Wallets Contained Hidden Implants That Could Copy Recovery Phrases
Trezor confirmed three Safe 5 wallets from reseller CryptoBilis contained hidden implants capable of copying recovery phrases and transmitting them via mobile networks. The case shows supply-chain compromise can defeat cold-storage assumptions even when firmware and secure elements appear untouched. It matters because affected users may have had backups exposed before a firmware update, and the attacker or insertion point has not been identified.
Trezor said three of its Safe 5 hardware wallets bought from reseller CryptoBilis contained a hidden extra circuit board that could copy a wallet's recovery phrase and send it over a mobile network to an attacker-controlled server. The company examined one wallet in its laboratory and identified two more from photos sent by owners. Trezor reported no lost funds among the three owners. The affected wallets were bought between Aug. 20 and Sept. 23.
Trezor said the implant sits between the Safe 5's main board and its screen, changes nothing in the wallet's firmware or Secure Element, and captures the phrase when it is displayed during backup creation or typed during restoration. It also copies a passphrase if shown on the screen. The device encrypts captured data before sending it and stores data for retry if network access fails. Trezor released firmware version 2.13.1 to block the implants found so far.
The incident follows Ledger's confirmation of unauthorized implants in genuine devices sold by CryptoBilis, which Ledger said were used to capture recovery phrases during setup and drain wallets in one coordinated operation. Trezor said the implants in its wallets work the same way, adapted to the Safe 5 display. Trezor has not identified who fitted the implants or where in the supply chain. Trezor removed CryptoBilis as an official reseller on Oct. 9 and has cut its reseller network by about 80%, dropping partners that posed no immediate threat.
The finding matters because hardware wallets are sold as cold-storage devices whose safety depends on the physical integrity of the device. A hidden board can bypass that assumption by reading secrets from the screen, while the wallet's software and security chip remain unchanged. Trezor says 48 buyers have contacted it and are being checked, but it cannot see balances because wallets are self-custodial. Trezor says the update cannot protect backups captured before it, and its guidance is to move funds to a new wallet with a new recovery phrase.
This affects buyers of Trezor Safe 5 wallets from CryptoBilis, because a hidden implant could expose recovery phrases and drain funds unless they move to a new wallet. It also affects the broader crypto security market by showing physical tampering can undermine cold storage without changing software.
Sources (1)
- [1]Original source(https://thehackernews.com/2026/11/trezor-confirms-hidden-hardware.html)