Ethereum Scraps Glamsterdam’s Hoodi Fork After ChainSecurity Flags Gas Risks

Introduction

Ethereum’s upcoming Glamsterdam upgrade, which includes the Hoodi testnet activation, was abruptly pulled just days before its scheduled launch. The decision follows a security audit by ChainSecurity that uncovered risky changes to gas accounting, prompting developers to halt the testnet and reassess the roadmap.

Why the Activation Was Scrapped

ChainSecurity’s analysis, released on October 13, highlighted concerns around two proposals—EIP‑8037 and EIP‑8038—that modify how gas is charged for state creation and access. The firm warned that, after the upgrade, a failed contract call could follow a different execution path, potentially turning a retryable operation into a permanent failure. In short, unchanged contract code might behave unexpectedly, creating a new class of failure that could affect many applications.

Immediate Actions for Node Operators

The Ethereum community was given clear guidance on how to respond:

1. Revert to an older client release that does not schedule the Hoodi upgrade, or
2. Wait for an updated client that removes the Hoodi activation flag.

Besu developers merged a pull request titled “Unschedule Amsterdam on Hoodi” on October 22, but the change only takes effect after operators upgrade to the new build. Meanwhile, the Ethereum Foundation’s DevOps team rolled back the shared configuration files, removing the scheduled activation timestamp, the Gloas fork at epoch 132,352, and the planned gas‑limit jump to 200 million.

Impact on the December Mainnet Timeline

The Hoodi testnet was intended to serve as the final public validation before selecting a mainnet launch date in early December. The original agenda listed December 1, 8, and 9 as candidate dates, with a decision to be made after a successful Hoodi run. With the testnet now unscheduled, the network loses its primary trigger for finalizing a mainnet rollout, and no new Hoodi date has been announced.

What Comes Next?

Developers will need to:

• Conduct a thorough review of the gas‑accounting changes identified by ChainSecurity.
• Publish revised EIPs or alternative implementations that address the identified failure paths.
• Coordinate a new testnet schedule that restores confidence among node operators and the broader ecosystem.

Until these steps are completed, the Glamsterdam upgrade remains in limbo, and the Ethereum community will be watching closely for the next update on the hard‑fork timeline.

--- This article was drafted with AI assistance and reviewed for accuracy by the Unchained editorial team.