If MetaMask is locked and the Secret Recovery Phrase is missing, an intact local vault may offer a recovery route when its password is known or can be found. Preserve the original browser profile before reinstalling, resetting or deleting the extension.

What the vault contains

MetaMask protects wallet data in an encrypted vault. Its browser-passworder library describes a JSON payload with base64-encoded data, IV and salt, PBKDF2 key derivation and AES-GCM encryption. Exact derivation parameters depend on the vault version and metadata. A filename or an arbitrary slice of a database is not a complete vault.

Preserve and identify the browser data

Copy the full profile and extension storage while preserving the original. Extension identifiers and storage layouts differ between browsers and versions. Searching for a product name or copying a fixed number of bytes from an arbitrary offset is not a reliable extraction method. Use a version-aware procedure that identifies and validates the complete encrypted record.

Decrypt with the correct implementation

Use the official MetaMask vault-recovery guidance or an inspected, compatible offline implementation. AES-GCM authentication must succeed; readable-looking bytes alone are not verification. Do not substitute a generic SHA-512 password derivation or compare the password’s SHA-256 hash with an unrelated value. Password searches must test candidates against the actual vault encryption.

No decryption or seed-derivation script is supplied here because a generic example can silently use the wrong vault parameters. Test any recovery workflow with synthetic data and the identified version before handling sensitive material.

Verify the recovered wallet

Compare restored accounts against addresses recorded before recovery. A Secret Recovery Phrase restores accounts derived from that phrase; separately imported private-key accounts or hardware accounts may require their original material. Do not assume that restoring one phrase restores every account previously visible in MetaMask.

Recovery limits and next steps

An intact vault and practical password candidates may make recovery possible. Missing vault data, corruption or a strong unknown password can make it infeasible. Do not reset the only surviving profile, destroy backups or paste recovered secrets into online tools.

Official references

• MetaMask browser-passworder implementation
• MetaMask Secret Recovery Phrase guidance
• MetaMask account import distinctions

Need help with recovery?

Email mail@keychainx.io with the wallet type, approximate date, backup extensions and error message. Describe the problem first; do not send passwords, wallet words, private keys or wallet files in an initial message. KeychainX can assess a wallet you own or are legally authorized to recover. Recovery is not guaranteed.

Technical review: 7 October 2026. Recovery depends on the surviving material and the original wallet version.