Members of Soyjak.party (also known as "the Sharty") claimed responsibility for the 4chan breach, with a user named "Chud" announcing they had executed "operation soyclipse" after allegedly having access to 4chan's systems for over a year.12 The hackers boasted about reopening the previously deleted /qa/ board, exposing personal information of site staff, and leaking the site's source code.32

The attack reportedly exploited 4chan's outdated technology stack, including PHP code that hadn't been updated since 2016 and deprecated MySQL functions.45 The hackers gained administrative access, temporarily posting messages using site owner Hiroyuki Nishimura's admin account, and leaked sensitive information including moderator emails-some allegedly linked to .edu and potentially .gov domains-raising questions about who had been moderating the notorious platform.65 Security experts suggested the source code leak would make future attempts to secure the site "all but impossible."7

The leak of 4chan's source code, known as Yotsuba, represents one of the most damaging aspects of the breach. Hackers extracted approximately 120 gigabytes of internal data, including the PHP codebase that powers the infamous imageboard.1 Security researchers examining the leaked code discovered it was running on severely outdated systems-FreeBSD 10.1 from 2014 and PHP versions last updated in 2016-containing numerous known vulnerabilities that facilitated the attack.23

Technical analysis revealed particularly concerning security practices within the exposed code. The hackers exploited a critical vulnerability in the site's PDF handling functionality, where 4chan failed to properly verify uploaded files, allowing attackers to execute malicious PostScript commands through GhostScript (a version from 2012) to gain shell access.4 The source code also exposed aggressive browser fingerprinting techniques used for spam control and ban evasion prevention, database connection strings, and authentication mechanisms that could enable future attacks despite the site's return.5 This comprehensive exposure of 4chan's technical infrastructure has led many security experts to question whether the platform can ever be truly secured again.

After nearly a week offline, 4chan has returned to operation with significant security changes. The site's owner, Hiroyuki Nishimura, implemented emergency patches to address the vulnerabilities exploited during the attack, though security experts remain skeptical about the platform's long-term viability given the extensive source code exposure.12

The return comes with notable changes to the platform's infrastructure:

• New moderation protocols have been implemented to replace compromised systems3

• User data from before the attack appears to have been partially restored4

• The controversial /qa/ board, which hackers had temporarily reopened, has been permanently removed5

• Many former moderators whose emails were exposed have reportedly been replaced67

Despite these efforts, cybersecurity analysts warn that the site remains vulnerable since attackers now possess intimate knowledge of its codebase and architecture.89