- Ethereum postponed the Hoodi test of the Glamsterdam upgrade after security concerns were raised.
- ChainSecurity said EIP-8037 and EIP-8038 could change how existing smart contracts behave during failed transactions.
Ethereum developers have delayed the Glamsterdam upgrade on the Hoodi test network after researchers identified risks tied to proposed gas-accounting changes. The Hoodi activation had been scheduled for Oct. 26 at 17:42:48 UTC, but developers decided during Thursday’s All Core Devs Execution meeting to pause the test and review the issue further. At the center of the delay is analysis from ChainSecurity, which said EIP-8037 and EIP-8038 could affect how existing smart contracts react when transactions fail. No new date has been set for the Hoodi test, and Ethereum’s mainnet timing for the Glamsterdam upgrade also remains unconfirmed.
Glamsterdam upgrade delayed after security review
Developers canceled Monday’s Hoodi activation after concerns emerged over how the proposed changes could interact with contracts already running on the network. The delay followed findings that gas-accounting updates might alter the behavior of failed transactions in ways developers did not expect.
The issue was discussed during Thursday’s All Core Devs Execution meeting. While the Glamsterdam upgrade had already completed its Sepolia testnet activation on Oct. 6, Hoodi was meant to be the next public rehearsal. That test has now been postponed, along with the planned increase of Hoodi’s gas limit to 200 million.
ChainSecurity findings on existing contracts
ChainSecurity published its analysis on Oct. 13 and focused on the combined effect of EIP-8037 and EIP-8038. According to the firm, the proposals could change how contracts respond when another contract they call runs out of gas, or when the fees used to pay the network’s operators are involved.
The findings relate to the behavior of existing software under the proposed rules. ChainSecurity demonstrated the mechanisms behind the concern, but it has not publicly shown that a major production protocol is exploitable. The report also does not suggest that current contracts are already being exploited through these changes.
How the Glamsterdam upgrade changes gas behavior
EIP-8037 changes how Ethereum charges for creating new records in its database. The proposal is aimed at limiting database growth as the network increases the number of transactions it can process. Under the proposed rules, gas used to create certain records can be restored if those changes are later undone.
That shift could affect contracts that are designed to catch a failed operation and keep going. Some contracts may record a failed attempt, block further tries, or move to another step. In some cases, developers rely on the remaining gas being too low for those actions to finish, which causes the whole transaction to reverse. Under the new calculation, enough gas could remain for failure-handling actions to complete instead.
There is also a risk in the other direction. ChainSecurity calculated that creating a new storage slot could require 110,020 gas when a separate allowance is exhausted, compared with 22,100 under the old rules. That means a contract working within an existing gas budget could fail during an operation that would otherwise be valid.
What comes next for the Glamsterdam upgrade
Ethereum’s mainnet still has no confirmed activation date for the Glamsterdam upgrade. The postponed Hoodi test leaves developers without a replacement schedule for the next public rehearsal, and the previously planned 200 million gas limit increase is also on hold.
Beyond the gas-accounting issue, Glamsterdam includes several broader changes for Ethereum. These include a new system for choosing block builders and other improvements intended to help the network support larger blocks. For now, however, developers are focused on reviewing the contract risks raised before moving ahead.
Conclusion
The Glamsterdam upgrade has been delayed on the Hoodi test network because researchers found that proposed gas-rule changes could affect how existing smart contracts handle failed transactions. ChainSecurity said the combination of EIP-8037 and EIP-8038 may leave some contracts with either more or less gas than expected, which could change whether certain actions complete or reverse. Ethereum developers have not announced a new Hoodi test date, and the mainnet schedule remains unconfirmed. While the concerns are serious enough to pause testing, the findings do not indicate that existing contracts are currently being exploited under the proposed changes.
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