Claude reconstructs public seed for P-256 used in Ethereum passkey security

Anthropic announced on Oct. 16 that Claude has reconstructed the public seed behind P-256, a cryptographic curve used for Ethereum passkey signing. This discovery provides wallet builders with new insights into concerns regarding the curve's origins. The public seed is an input for deriving a coefficient in the curve's equation, distinct from private signing credentials that authorize wallet activities. Anthropic noted that unexplained seeds from the U.S. National Security Agency had raised suspicions about potential weaknesses in the curve's parameters. The published method initializes the C-library generator lrand48 with a timestamp from Aug. 16, 1997, producing a sequence of candidate seeds. Candidate 1,842 yields the published P-256 value, offering a repeatable recipe for this constant. Anthropic claims this finding makes the existence of deliberate backdoors less likely, stating no new attacks or curve weaknesses have been identified, and users need not take any action. The Ethereum connection is established through EIP-7951, which details signature verification using P-256, also known as secp256r1, and identifies relevant hardware like Apple Secure Enclave and Android Keystore. EIP-7951 aims to enhance device-native signing, multifactor authentication, and key management. The P256VERIFY operation in EIP-7951 checks the validity of signatures using a message hash, signature, and public key, with the reconstructed public seed being separate from private signing credentials. P-256 is distinct from secp256k1, the curve currently used in Ethereum, focusing on P-256-compatible signing. Anthropic also reported that candidate 876 produced a prime-order curve of the required size, but the selection criteria remain unclear.

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