Bitcoin Core 32.0 has entered release-candidate testing, with developers targeting October 10 for the final release. The update is focused on improving verification speed and addressing security vulnerabilities for node operators and developers who run the Bitcoin software.
According to draft release notes, performance improvements come from reading database information in parallel during block checks, without changing how quickly Bitcoin produces blocks. Four wallet commands will also default to a newer format for exchanging partially signed transactions between wallets and signing devices, while applications can still request the older format if needed.
On the security side, one fix prevents crafted wallet names from triggering commands on a node's computer. The flaw affected non-Windows systems where an authenticated user could create wallets and the walletnotify feature was configured to run commands when wallet transactions occurred. A separate patch addresses excessive memory use in the new HTTP server. Contributor Matthew Zipkin, posting as pinheadmz, identified a memory exhaustion scenario while auditing Bitcoin Core's HTTP server with the AI model Kimi K3. GitHub user jeanpablojp later found that unauthenticated requests could also cause memory growth when the REST interface was enabled. After the patch was revised, 16 unauthenticated connections caused about 3 MB of memory growth over 90 seconds, compared with 3.2 GB before. The patch was merged September 5 as part of ongoing security work for Bitcoin Core 32.0.
The update is a software adoption by individual node operators and does not alter Bitcoin's consensus rules, the 21 million coin supply cap, block reward schedule, or proof-of-work requirements. Separately, hardware wallet maker BitBox patched two severe firmware flaws in August, and Core Lightning developers warned node operators about confirmed vulnerabilities while preparing fixes.
