Client Besu Software Crashes on Ethereum

Client Besu software crashes on Ethereum

On the morning of November 7, the Ethereum community on Twitter reported an issue appearing in the Besu software. Immediately after that, to ensure safety, Validators are encouraged to switch to another software while waiting for the patching process.

Besu users may be experiencing downtime right now. Besu team is aware and on it – in the meantime, switch to another client or use @Rescue_Node while a fix is deployed

— EthStaker 🦇🔊 (@ethStaker) January 6, 2024

The Besu team later confirmed the occurrence of the error on the mainnet. Specifically, the problem lies in the data storage process of States.

🚨Attention Mainnet users 🚨
A recent Mainnet block triggered a bug in Besu’s state database. If you are validating with Besu, please review the latest hotfix patch notes. They have details on how to get your node up and running:https://t.co/WZkLV3GqeY

— Hyperledger Besu (@HyperledgerBesu) January 7, 2024

The Besu team has announced a temporary patch and encourages Validators using the old version to update immediately.

The Ethereum community on Twitter also shared that the incident with Besu could be considered lucky. If this incident occurred in Geth (Client has over 84% market share in Execution), the consequences could be significantly greater for the network.

Earlier today, Besu, an execution client, has encountered a bug, causing validators running Besu to miss their duties.

This highlights the importance of client diversity, which is made possible by diverse operator selection in SSV.

Learn how 👇 pic.twitter.com/5rExViTtBh

— ssv network 🤖💙 (@ssv_network) January 6, 2024

Diversification of Client software in the Ethereum community, including Consensus and Execution, has long been recommended. However, compared to mid-2023, especially after Geth surpassed the 80% market share threshold, this problem has not yet improved significantly, and the gap is increasingly widening.