On Christmas Day, the zkSync Era network, an essential component of Ethereum ‘s layer 2, was affected by an incident that caused concern among users and developers.
At 05:50 UTC, an issue triggered by automatic security procedures disrupted network operation for five hours.
On December 25 at 05:50 UTC, zkSync Era encountered an issue triggered by one of the network’s automated safety procedures.
The issue is completely resolved, but we want to share details with the community about what happened, and what teams did to address it.
TL;DR
• There… pic.twitter.com/hO9TKlfBMQ— zkSync Developers (∎, ∆) (@zkSyncDevs) December 25, 2023
The team identified that this problem was caused by an error in the calculation of status updates, being described as a subtle but relevant error.
Even though the protocol calculation was accurate, an error in the calculation process by the operator sent the network into a defensive state, temporarily halting its operations.
zkSync highlights that at no time were user funds compromised
After identifying and resolving the issue, the network returned to full operation, recovering transactions that had been put on hold during the incident.
An update to the node software was released to allow other operators to implement the changes and avoid future similar issues.
The team recognized that the overly defensive stance adopted by the network, established more than a year ago for the main launch of Era, is no longer appropriate due to the current maturity of the system.
It was noted that although the system had a 24-hour execution delay to address such issues, resolution took longer due to limited equipment availability during the holidays.
Importantly, although the issue did not involve the sequencer, any change to its behavior would require the involvement of a broader group of technical experts and the community.
The team expressed its apologies to the affected users and developers, thanking the community for its patience and offers of help during the incident.
In addition, they committed to discussing improvements in the response plan for similar situations during festive periods in the coming year.
Despite this setback, zkSync Era remains the fourth largest layer 2 protocol of the blockchain market with a total value locked of $565 million.
As the network advances, the focus is on strengthening its infrastructure and delivering a more robust and secure experience for users in the future.
