Adam Dean, a developer for the Cardano network, has confirmed that a very serious flaw is affecting the network’s testnet.
Dean recently tweeted that the network’s testnet is “Catastrophically Broken.” He detailed the discovery on Twitter, saying it was due to a recently discovered flaw.
The vulnerability was discovered in Cardano Node v1.35.2, the code base for the forthcoming Vasil hard fork. This reportedly occurred as a result of the pool operators rushing to update the mainnet, resulting in incompatible forks and a drop in chain density.
🧵 (1/n) It’s important to point out today that the #Cardano #Testnet is **catastrophically** broken due to a bug in Cardano Node v 1.35.2. This was the version that we had previously been told was “Tested and Ready” for the Vasil Hardfork. This bug was only discovered…
— Adam Dean (@adamKDean) August 18, 2022
New Bug, New Problem
Stake pool operators (SPOs) rushing to update on the mainnet revealed a significant issue in the version 1.35.2 codebase that caused the generation of incompatible forks, which had been intended for use in the forthcoming Vasil hard fork.
Since the majority of SPOs have upgraded their nodes to version 1.35.2 in order to replicate a Vasil hard fork combinator event, the testnet is currently inoperable despite the discovery of the vulnerability. Version 1.35.3, released earlier this week, cannot sync the chain and is currently being tested on two new testnets with no previous block history.
Dean adds that the “uneasy feeling” is a “understatement” on his part because the rollout appears to have been rushed. He has strongly recommended that IOHK CEO Charles Hoskinson implement the necessary disaster recovery infrastructure and tools.
Several delays in implementing the upgrade have occurred due to technical issues, with the initial deadline of late June now being pushed back.
Cardano Founders Says its been “Tested”
The creator and acting head of Cardano, Charles Hoskinson, has addressed the recent events surrounding the testnet. The crypto entrepreneur finds it strange that there is a lot of hubbub over someone apparently pressing SPOs to switch to the latest testnet version. Hoskinson claims the code has undergone extensive testing, which includes the SPOs. Additionally, the “catastrophic error” causing code has been deleted.
According to Hoskinson, the community could still delay the launch of the Vasil hard fork and begin testing again, which has already been done a considerable number of times, but it would hardly help the developers of decentralized applications on Cardano, who have been awaiting an update for almost a year. Given that Cardano is a decentralized blockchain, Hoskinson concluded by saying that the ultimate decision rests with the SPOs.
