KEY TAKEAWAYS
- The Stellar Development Foundation identified a bug in the ‘Soroban Live State Prioritization’ feature, affecting data integrity.
- The bug led to the corruption of 478 data entries, with 84 remaining unresolved despite mitigation efforts.
- The issue stemmed from outdated data being moved during the eviction process, prompting a fix to ensure the latest data is used.
- The SDF is implementing strategies to enhance network reliability and transparency, engaging with developers and partners.
On October 9, 2025, the Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) identified a significant issue within its public network, linked to a new feature called ‘Soroban Live State Prioritization.’ This feature, introduced in Whisk Protocol 23 (P23), was designed to enhance data handling and storage capabilities. However, a bug within this feature led to the corruption of certain data entries, an issue that went unnoticed for 35 days.
The bug, which began affecting the network as early as September 4, 2025, was discovered to have corrupted 478 data entries. The SDF worked swiftly with affected parties and validators to contain the issue by October 10, 2025, and fully resolve it by October 23, 2025. Despite these efforts, 84 data entries remained corrupted, necessitating further mitigations by protocols and issuers.
Understanding the Bug and Its Impact
The root cause of the incident was traced to a bug in the network’s management of data entry transitions between different storage areas. The issue occurred during the ‘eviction’ process, where instead of moving the most up-to-date version of each persistent entry, the system sometimes moved an outdated copy. This is akin to saving an old draft instead of the latest version.
During the eviction scan, when applying ledgers, the system generated a list of candidates for the ‘hot-archive,’ including their value. The problem arose because these candidates were entries encountered during the scan of the Bucket List at arbitrary levels, representing different points in time. The system sometimes pulled entries from the wrong layer of this layered filing cabinet.
Prior to Whisk Protocol 23, this mechanism was not problematic because eviction was handled within the live state, requiring only the up-to-date Time-To-Live (TTL) value. The fix implemented ensures that every eviction candidate loads the latest version of the entry from the Bucket List snapshot.
Steps Towards Improvement and Transparency
The SDF has engaged with internal teams, external developers, and partners to discuss areas for improvement. They have begun implementing specific strategies to strengthen the network and its processes. These efforts underscore the SDF’s commitment to transparency, reliability, and continued collaboration with stakeholders in support of the Stellar network.
For more detailed information on the incident and the steps taken, the SDF has published a post-mortem report, which can be accessed here.
Why This Matters: Impact, Industry Trends & Expert Insights
The Stellar Development Foundation (SDF) recently addressed a data corruption issue in its ‘Soroban Live State Prioritization’ feature, which affected the network’s data handling capabilities. This incident highlights the challenges in managing blockchain data transitions effectively.
Recent industry reports indicate that modular blockchain architectures are enhancing scalability and data management. This aligns with Stellar’s efforts to improve its network through the Whisk Protocol 23 upgrade, aiming to enhance data handling and storage capabilities.
A report from Infosecurity Magazine highlights that data bugs in blockchain systems significantly impact credibility, with smart contract vulnerabilities leading to substantial financial losses. This reinforces the importance of Stellar’s quick response to mitigate the impact of the data corruption bug, emphasizing the need for rigorous security practices in blockchain technology.
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