Pectra Upgrade on Sepolia: Issues and Solutions

user avatar

by Giorgi Kostiuk

2 years ago

The Pectra upgrade on the Sepolia testnet faced unexpected issues, including the production of empty blocks.

Problems with Pectra Upgrade

The Pectra upgrade on Ethereum's Sepolia testnet faced unexpected challenges. Developers experienced bugs in their geth nodes and mined empty blocks immediately upon deployment. The issue arose from an incorrect interaction with the deposit contract, leading to unintended log events and invalid blocks that hampered transaction processing. Developers quickly identified the root cause and proposed a fix to ignore invalid logs. However, the major task was deploying the fix without splitting the chain.

I wrote up the story of the Pectra incident on Sepolia, it's an interesting story about edge cases, coordination and an attacker who swooped in and made our lives much harder!Marius Van der Wijden

New Zero-Token Vulnerability

Even though developers believed the issue was resolved, empty blocks began reappearing. It was soon discovered that an external party exploited a lesser-known aspect of the ERC-20 standard: zero-token transfers. This method allowed anyone to trigger transfer events, bypassing the original fix. In response, developers quickly deployed a private patch blocking transactions with the deposit contract on a limited number of DevOps nodes.

Ethereum Developers' Plans

At 14:00 UTC, Sepolia nodes synchronized with the official patch, restoring normal block production. The developers found that the issue was due to the Sepolia deposit contract being token-gated, unlike the mainnet variant. The attack revealed an issue with the ERC-20 standard—zero-token transfers still emit events. In light of such risks, developers plan deeper reviews of smart contract interactions before deploying Pectra on the Ethereum mainnet.

As a result of the incident, developers have decided to conduct more comprehensive testing prior to deploying updates on the Ethereum mainnet.

Tier I

Sector: #18291

Sealed Hiding Place Room

Resource Cache

Resource Cache

Tier I

Requires 25% Tier Progress to Claim
Meme Cache

Meme Cache

Tier I

Requires 50% Tier Progress to Claim
Equipment Cache

Equipment Cache

Tier I

Requires 75% Tier Progress to Claim

After collecting, hiding places will be stored in your inventory and can be opened with Keys.

Other news

SEC Updates Cryptoassets FAQ with New Governance Questions

On November 2, 2026, the SEC Division of Corporation Finance added new questions to its cryptoassets FAQ, addressing governance through foundations and organizations, control over participation, and the distinction between functional and decentralized networks.

user avatarDiego Alvarez

Chainalysis Reports Security Incident Affecting Customer Data

Chainalysis reported a security incident on October 30 that impacted a subset of customer-related information, including names and email addresses.

user avatarKenji Takahashi

Hong Kong Launches Postquantum Cryptography Toolkit

On November 2, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology launched a postquantum cryptography assessment toolkit to help banks identify necessary upgrades to their cryptographic systems as quantum computing evolves.

user avatarMaria Fernandez

NYSE Partners with Major Firms for Tokenized Securities Initiative

On November 2, the New York Stock Exchange announced partnerships with Broadridge, Computershare, Equiniti, and Superstate to support a proposed tokenized securities venue aimed at enhancing infrastructure and improving market operations.

user avatarGustavo Mendoza

BTCPay Servers 247 Release Addresses Security Vulnerabilities

The latest release of BTCPay Servers, version 247, includes critical security fixes to enhance security for businesses operating their own Bitcoin payment servers.

user avatarRajesh Kumar

Aave Freezes tBTC Supply and Borrowing Amid Threshold's Pause

Aave contributors announced a freeze on additional tBTC supply and borrowing in its Ethereum Core market following Threshold's temporary pause of the token's mint and redeem functions.

user avatarMiguel Rodriguez

Important disclaimer: The information presented on the Dapp.Expert portal is intended solely for informational purposes and does not constitute an investment recommendation or a guide to action in the field of cryptocurrencies. The Dapp.Expert team is not responsible for any potential losses or missed profits associated with the use of materials published on the site. Before making investment decisions in cryptocurrencies, we recommend consulting a qualified financial advisor.