Disclosure: Btcd consensus bugs due to usage of signed transaction version

This incident occurred shortly after the issue was initially reported. When attempting to synchronize a node using btcd version 0.23.4 on the testnet, it was observed that the process becomes stuck at height 2575398, indicating a problem with this particular version. In contrast, a node running the newer btcd version 0.24.0 did not experience this issue, suggesting that the vulnerability may have been addressed in the latest release.

Further observation revealed that according to monitoring resources such as ForkMonitor, nodes operating on mainnet with btcd version 0.23.3 have not encountered similar problems. Additionally, there has been no detection of non-standard transactions that would exploit this vulnerability on the mainnet in the days following its discovery. This information suggests that the exploit may be isolated to the testnet environment and specific to certain versions of the btcd software. The situation underscores the importance of ongoing network monitoring and prompt updates to node software to ensure security and continuity within blockchain networks.