BNB Chain Releases State Root Bug Fix, Urges Node Operators to Update Quickly
Key Facts
On November 6, BNB Chain released BSC-Reth v0.1.4-hotfix to address the possibility of an incorrect state root being calculated in a legacy account path, and recommended that operators update as soon as possible. The guidance applies to reth-bsc operators on mainnet and testnet, including validators, MEV builders, full-node operators and sentry nodes, according to the official release page. The bug concerns the state root, a value that summarizes blockchain data state and is used to verify it. The release notes pinpointed the issue under certain conditions in the trie structure, without mentioning any disruption to network synchronization. The new version is issued as a software fix directed at operators of this client.
BNB Chain's instructions call for installing v0.1.4-hotfix and then restarting the node. The release notes say the package includes a fix from the Reth project for the incorrect calculation of the state root in the legacy path. The fix requires no database migration or hard fork, limiting the announced action to updating the software and restarting the node. The guidance covers BSC-Reth users on both networks, not all network users; the page directs its instructions to node operators and does not ask wallet users to take action. The release notes did not identify any cases of funds being lost or service interruption, so the page does not confirm whether such outcomes occurred or did not occur.
The fix originated in pull request No. 28264 in the Reth repository, which was merged into the main branch on November 3, three days before the BSC-Reth-specific version was released. The pull request description said the change “tightens the duplicate decision at a buffered branch boundary and adds an incremental-root regression test.” The change addresses lookup behavior at a buffered branch boundary, a case related to the root calculation path covered by BNB Chain's release notes. The release sequence shows that the upstream Reth fix was merged first, then included by BNB Chain in its client-specific hotfix package. The pull request passed 52 checks before being merged into the main branch, according to the project log.
The fix follows the release of BSC-Reth v0.1.4 on November 3, which linked the node update to the scheduled Jenner upgrade on mainnet. That release's instructions asked node operators to upgrade and restart their nodes before the upgrade activation, setting the date for December 8, 2026 at 02:30 UTC. The patch released on November 6 addresses a separate bug in state root calculation, and its page recommends that BSC-Reth operators on mainnet and testnet update quickly. Jenner therefore remains an upcoming operational milestone for mainnet operators, while the current fix requires no hard fork or database migration.