--- title: "Ethereum Core Developers Delay Glamsterdam Upgrade Over Smart Contract Vulnerabilities" description: "Chainsecurity discovered broken invariants caused by EIP-8037 and EIP-8038, prompting developers to postpone the Hoodi testnet hard fork." url: https://basisdesk.news/news/ethereum-delays-glamsterdam-upgrade-hoodi-invariants published: 2026-11-06T10:16:31.324Z modified: 2026-11-06T10:16:31.324Z section: Ethereum & L2s author: Basis Desk Newsroom (AI-generated, source-verified) sentiment: bearish tickers: [ETH, BTC] tags: [ethereum, glamsterdam, hard-fork, smart-contracts, hoodi] license: Quote with attribution to Basis Desk (basisdesk.news). Not financial advice. --- # Ethereum Core Developers Delay Glamsterdam Upgrade Over Smart Contract Vulnerabilities Chainsecurity discovered broken invariants caused by EIP-8037 and EIP-8038, prompting developers to postpone the Hoodi testnet hard fork. ## At a glance - **What happened:** Ethereum core developers paused the Glamsterdam hard fork on the Hoodi testnet on Nov. 6 after vulnerabilities were identified in EIP-8037 and EIP-8038. - **Why it matters:** The changes alter state and operation gas costs, breaking eight contract invariants that leave certain smart contracts exposed. - **Who is affected:** Ethereum smart contract developers and protocols operating code dependent on legacy gas mechanics. - **What's next:** All Core Devs will review audit feedback and explore potential specification changes before resetting the Hoodi upgrade schedule. - **Status:** announced - **Primary source:** [EIP-8037/EIP-8038 Glamsterdam](https://blog.ethereum.org/en/2026/11/06/glamsterdam-8037-8038) — Ethereum Foundation Blog ## Key points - Ethereum core developers paused the Glamsterdam hard fork on the Hoodi testnet to fix smart contract vulnerabilities discovered by Chainsecurity. - EIP-8037 and EIP-8038 break eight specific contract invariants by changing how gas is charged for operations and state storage. - The Ethereum Foundation released a repository of broken invariants and asked external developers to report vulnerable contracts. ## Editorial remark - **Context:** The Glamsterdam hard fork represents Ethereum's next major upgrade, introducing updates to fee accounting and state economics via EIP-8037 and EIP-8038. - **Impact:** Decentralized applications relying on legacy gas assumptions face potential logic failures, forcing developers to audit contracts against eight identified invariants. - **Watch:** All Core Devs will evaluate whether specification changes can resolve the broken invariants before rescheduling the Hoodi testnet activation. Ethereum core developers have paused the Glamsterdam upgrade schedule and halted plans to fork the Hoodi testnet after security audits uncovered contract vulnerabilities tied to pending gas modifications, according to an update published by the Ethereum Foundation on Nov. 6 [1]. Security firm Chainsecurity identified several projects that would become vulnerable following the activation of Glamsterdam [1]. The risks stem from assumptions and invariants that are invalidated by EIP-8037 and EIP-8038, two proposals that overhaul operation gas pricing and state storage fee mechanics [1]. In response to the discoveries, All Core Devs (ACD) opted to stall the upgrade rollout until the technical complications are resolved [1]. The postponement follows earlier testnet milestones, including testing on the [Sepolia testnet](https://basisdesk.news/analysis/ethereum-glamsterdam-upgrade-sepolia-activation), as developers work to establish network stability before pushing changes downstream. ## Auditing Calls and Next Steps To prevent application failures, the Ethereum Foundation has called on external smart contract developers and protocol auditors to evaluate their repositories [1]. Foundation researchers noted that internal teams and hired auditing firms cannot comprehensively test every decentralized application across the ecosystem [1]. Developers have released a public repository outlining eight specific invariants broken by Glamsterdam, complete with technical explanations and verification prompts, asking affected teams to report exposures to the core development group [1]. Core developers are currently assessing whether protocol-level specification adjustments can mitigate the risks without discarding the efficiency objectives of the underlying Ethereum Improvement Proposals [1]. At the time of writing, $ETH traded at $2,237, down 7.4% over the past 24 hours, amid broader market weakness where $BTC declined 5.3% to $76,075. ## FAQ **Why was the Glamsterdam upgrade delayed on the Hoodi testnet?** Chainsecurity identified that EIP-8037 and EIP-8038 alter state and operation gas costs, breaking eight invariants that certain smart contracts rely on. **What should smart contract developers do regarding Glamsterdam?** The Ethereum Foundation published a repository detailing the eight broken invariants and requested that affected teams review their code and notify core developers. ## Sources 1. [EIP-8037/EIP-8038 Glamsterdam](https://blog.ethereum.org/en/2026/11/06/glamsterdam-8037-8038) — Ethereum Foundation Blog, 2026-11-06 --- Basis Desk Newsroom · AI-generated, source-verified · https://basisdesk.news/about/how-we-use-ai