Nethermind Resolves Critical Bug in Ethereum Client

The development firm Nethermind has resolved a critical bug in the Ethereum execution client that caused failures during block processing by validators.

According to the company’s co-technical director, Daniel Cadel, the consensus bug affected software versions from 1.23 to 1.25. All node operators are advised to upgrade to release 1.25.2.

We have the fix!
Please update to 1.25.2
No resync is needed.https://t.co/fV3MEdipVX…
Versions up to 1.22 don’t have that bug, only 1.23-1.25 are affected.

— DanielC (@_D4nie1_) January 21, 2024

The bug was first reported by a GitHub user known as wga22, who stated that an error occurred in the Nethermind execution client during transaction verification.

Although the incident affected a small portion of Ethereum nodes, it reignited discussions about the network’s reliance on major clients like Geth.

Today’s beacon chain hiccup has once again highlighted the importance of EL client diversity.

This could have been a very different outcome if the bug was caused by Geth, which is currently a supermajority.

Switch to a minority client, and help keep Ethereum secure! pic.twitter.com/NkK8HOw5uB

— liam ? (@daddysether) January 21, 2024

“Today’s Beacon Chain hiccup has once again highlighted the importance of Ethereum client diversity. The outcome could have been very different if the bug was in Geth, which currently holds a supermajority. Switch to minority clients and help ensure Ethereum’s security,” stated a user known as daddysether.

Currently, 84% of Ethereum validators use Geth software, while Nethermind is used by only 8.2%. Proponents of decentralization argue that such a concentration of nodes on a single client poses a significant threat to the blockchain.

Timely and friendly reminder to get tf off Geth.

Nothing against Geth (they’re great) but you’re taking on disproportionate risk by running it. pic.twitter.com/CxCNfmuEKU

— Marceau ?️ (@marceaueth) January 21, 2024

“Timely and friendly reminder to get off Geth. Nothing against this client (they’re great), but you’re taking on disproportionate risk by running it,” wrote marceaueth.

In December 2023, the L2 solution zkSync Era temporarily halted block production due to an unforeseen error. Developers reported that the failure was caused by a bug on one of the servers, triggering security protocols.

Earlier, the Arbitrum One second-layer network stopped processing transactions due to a significant increase in network traffic. The network’s functionality was restored in less than two hours.