Base Fixes Reth Error, BNB Chain Prepares Security Update

Developers of Base and BNB Chain reported measures to address a bug in the Ethereum Reth execution client that could cause incorrect calculation of the blockchain's cryptographic state root. Base has already released a fix, while the BNB Chain team continues to prepare an emergency update for BSC-Reth.

The issue is related to the data processing mechanism used in calculating the state of accounts, balances, and smart contract storage.

Under certain conditions, nodes running affected versions of Reth could compute an incorrect state root. This posed a risk of halting synchronization and obtaining incorrect cryptographic proofs of the blockchain state.

The bug affected software implementations used in some networks compatible with the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM).

Base released a fix for node operators

The Base team reported that they discovered the issue on November 4, 2026, and applied a fix on the same day to all nodes responsible for block formation.

Developers recalculated the network's state root and confirmed its correctness. Additional verification is provided by Base's own proof system, which uses an independent state verification mechanism.

According to the project, the bug did not cause any disruptions to the main network and did not affect user funds.

On November 5, Base published update v1.5.3, eliminating the risk of node stoppage upon detecting state root discrepancies.

Operators are advised to install the new software version. Re-synchronizing the blockchain or performing additional recovery procedures is not required.

BNB Chain also acknowledged the risk associated with the Reth client.

However, the team clarified that the opBNB network does not use the op-reth implementation, so the discussed bug does not affect it. The impact on BSC-Reth is considered limited by the developers.

As of November 6, BNB Chain continues to work on an emergency fix and monitors the infrastructure status. According to the team, no additional actions are required from users and application developers at this time.

LayerZero temporarily restricted cross-network operations

The issue affected not only blockchain node operators but also services using network state data for conducting cross-network operations.

Infrastructure provider LayerZero temporarily suspended certain components facilitating interaction between the affected blockchains.

As a result, the delivery of some cross-network messages was delayed. According to ecosystem participants, the restrictions were introduced as a precautionary measure, not due to confirmed fund theft.

Some DeFi services also temporarily restricted storage replenishments and cross-network transfer routes while assessing the potential impact of the bug.

Cybersecurity company Blockaid warned that nodes without the fix might experience synchronization issues and return incorrect state proofs via the eth_getProof interface.

However, experts consider the incident a software correctness bug. At the time of publication, no confirmed cases of defect exploitation or related financial losses have been identified.

Reth developers made a fix to the source code on November 3, and released version 2.10.0 on November 5. Fixes are also available for related implementations, including op-reth and Base.

Further risk mitigation depends on the installation of updates by operators of affected nodes and the completion of checks by cross-network services.