XRP Ledger has moved closer to activating a Nov. 4 fix for a flaw that can let accounts authorized only to burn issued tokens create new ones under certain conditions.
Summary
- Developers warn issuers against delegating PaymentBurn permission until the correction becomes active.
- Validator backing stands at 33 of 35, with activation dependent on sustained support.
- The flaw concerns issued tokens, including stablecoins, without affecting XRP’s native supply.
- The amendment includes separate repairs for trading pools, vault accounting, and loan checks.
XRPL’s official documentation identifies the problem in PaymentBurn, a permission designed to let another account destroy fungible tokens on an issuer’s behalf. Until the fixCleanup3_4_0 amendment takes effect, a delegate holding that permission can sometimes mint trust line tokens or Multi-Purpose Tokens, known as MPTs.
The warning specifically excludes other granular permissions from the flaw. Its recommendation is to avoid delegating PaymentBurn while the correction remains pending.
XRP Ledger fix separates token burning from issuance
In the permission reference, XRPL lists PaymentMint and PaymentBurn as separate functions. PaymentMint authorizes payments that create fungible tokens, while PaymentBurn is intended to authorize their destruction without allowing a payment to cross a zero balance.
The Sep. 16 release notes for xrpld version 3.4.0 describe the correction directly: payments using PaymentBurn will be rejected if they cross that boundary. The change forms part of an amendment package, meaning its inclusion in server software does not by itself activate the new transaction rule across the network.
The documented exposure concerns accounts that have received the affected delegated permission. Neither the permission warning nor the release notes identifies an issuer whose tokens were fraudulently created.
XRP’s native supply falls outside this issued-token permission flaw. The affected token categories are assets created on the ledger through trust lines or the MPT framework.
Validator support puts activation on track for Nov. 4
According to the XRPLWin tracker, fixCleanup3_4_0 has backing from 33 of 35 tracked trusted validators, equivalent to 94.29%. With that validator count, 29 supporting votes are needed to clear the required threshold.
The projected activation time is Nov. 4 at approximately 14:46 UTC, provided support remains above 80% throughout the two-week waiting period.
Voting history shows an initial majority running from Oct. 9 until Oct. 21, when the amendment lost the backing needed to continue its countdown. A new majority began on Oct. 21, moving the projected activation into November.
A drop to 80% or below would interrupt the waiting period again. The tracker therefore lists Nov. 4 as a conditional activation time, rather than a completed network upgrade.
Issuers can update or revoke delegated permissions
XRPL’s delegation guide explains that an account owner grants another account specific powers through a DelegateSet transaction. The owner can change or revoke those permissions through another transaction of the same type.
The system supports separate accounts for routine operations while keys carrying full control remain offline. Its documentation gives stablecoin compliance as one use case, including approving users who have completed identity checks.
Each delegate can receive up to 10 permissions. Certain powers, particularly those involving changes to cryptographic keys or granting further permissions, cannot be delegated.
The guide says granular permissions are predefined and cannot be customized to cover only selected currencies. Its PaymentBurn warning appears alongside these operating instructions.
Stablecoin distribution on XRPL has continued to develop. As crypto.news previously reported, Ripple’s RLUSD Coinbase launch on Oct. 28 covered retail and institutional platforms, with network support spanning XRP Ledger, Ethereum and Base.
Ripple identifies RLUSD’s issuer as Standard Custody & Trust Company, a New York-supervised limited-purpose trust company. Its transparency page says reserves are held in segregated accounts and monthly reports compare circulating tokens with their backing assets.
Amendment repairs extend to vaults and lending
Beyond permission delegation, the official amendment description lists corrections to Single Asset Vault deposits, withdrawals, and clawbacks, designed to prevent assets from being over-delivered or under-delivered through rounding.
Trading-pool repairs address clawback amounts that round to zero and cases involving the final liquidity provider’s remaining balance.
Ripple previously backed native lending proposals intended to let single-asset vaults supply funds for fixed-term loans. Those proposals have their own validator approval process.
Within the cleanup amendment, loan lateness, impairment, and default checks will require the due date to have strictly passed. Another change allows a withdrawal of fixed vault shares to return zero assets when the vault is fully impaired, instead of failing the transaction.
