Optimism Reverts to Permissioned State After Fraud Proof Bugs Found

Optimism recently introduced permissionless fraud proofs, a major advancement for its Ethereum-based layer-2 network.

This new system allows all users, not just select proposers, to challenge potentially fraudulent transactions, marking a step towards what Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin describes as Stage 1 decentralization. This stage requires a functional fraud proof system with a multisig fallback for handling potential issues.

However, just over two months after implementing this system on June 10, the Optimism Foundation has reverted to a permissioned model due to several identified bugs. These issues, discovered through community-driven audits, prompted the temporary reactivation of the permissioned fallback system to ensure stability while fixes are made.

A proposal from OP Labs to Optimism’s governance forum explained that no user assets were at risk and that the fallback was a precautionary measure.

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The proposal detailed the vulnerabilities, including two high-severity issues, but assured that these did not compromise user funds. Some components related to the fraud proof system were not included in the initial audits, but the fallback mechanisms are designed to address any potential bugs without impacting user security.

The proposal suggests scheduling the upgrade, known as “Granite,” for September 10 at 16:00:01 UTC. This upgrade involves several network changes, including an L2 hard fork. Although the hard fork itself has not been audited, OP Labs has conducted a security review and deemed it low-risk. Optimism has yet to provide further comments on the situation.

Alexander Stefanov