Reth Bug Disrupts Some Ethereum Nodes
Reth, Paradigm’s Ethereum client, hit by a bug that caused short-term node outages.
The incident occurred on Sept. 3, when a glitch in the Reth execution client affected nodes running on Ethereum mainnet versions 1.6.0 and 1.4.8.
According to a statement from Paradigm's CTO, Georgios Konstantopoulos, the cause of the bug has not yet been determined. A post on Paradigm's GitHub page specifies that the glitch manifested in block 2327426. Konstantopoulos quickly published a set of commands for Reth node validators to restore their operations, but the root cause is still under investigation.
Reth is an Ethereum execution layer client that directly processes user data, developed by Paradigm using the Rust programming language. This language is known for its high performance and flexibility, making it very popular among blockchain developers.
Reth is responsible for processing transactions and updating the Ethereum blockchain's state. If it incorrectly calculates the "state root" (a unique digital code that confirms the integrity of all data on the blockchain), the node loses its ability to synchronize with the network and receive up-to-date data. As a result, the node stops functioning properly, creating a temporary vulnerability.
According to Ethernodes data, the glitch affected a relatively small number of nodes, as Reth is used by only 5.4% of the total Ethereum validators. Despite the limited scope, this is a rather unpleasant situation that raises concerns about Paradigm's client reliability.
