Consensus Bug Causes Ethereum Chain Split

August 27, 2021

Key Takeaways

A bug in an old version of the Ethereum software client Geth has caused a chain split on Ethereum mainnet.
Flexpool, BTC.com, and Binance’s pools had reportedly been mining on the older version.
Members of the crypto community have advised users to avoid making transactions on the network until the issue is resolved.

The Ethereum blockchain has split due to a bug in the older version of Geth.

Bug Leads to Ethereum Fork

A bug affecting the older version of the Ethereum network client Geth is causing nodes to split from the main network. There is a danger that the bug could lead to double-spending attacks and losses for users making transactions.

While the bug has been fixed in Geth version v1.10.8., it’s thought that many nodes are running the old, unpatched versions.

Tim Beiko, part of Ethereum’s “AllCoreDevs,” suggested that Flexpool, BTC.com, and Binance’s pools had been mining on the older version of Geth.

The consensus bug also affects chains other than Ethereum, including Polygon, Binance Smart Chain, xDAI, and others. Rumors are circulating on Twitter that the bug may have already been exploited on both Ethereum and Binance Smart Chain.

Polygon tweeted that most validators on its network have already updated to the latest Geth/Bor version.

Fortunately, the majority of Ethereum miners are running the updated version of the Geth client, which means there’s no risk of a hardfork. Concerning the non-mining nodes running older versions of Geth, they’re effectively barred from accessing the main network.

As a precaution, members of the crypto community have advised users against making significant transactions on Ethereum and other chains until the issue is resolved and the majority of nodes update to the latest version of the Geth software. “Stay away from doing txs for awhile till confirmed, unless you are sure you are submitting to latest geth,” DeFi developer Andre Cronje wrote. “Go for a walk outside, we all need it.”

Disclosure: At the time of writing, the author of this feature owned ETH. Andre Cronje is an equity holder in Crypto Briefing.

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