Anza Urges Solana Validators to Install Agave 4.4.1 by Nov. 6
Anza warned Solana mainnet-beta validators to install Agave 4.4.1 before epoch 1079, expected Nov. 6 at about 8:30 a.m. ET. The patch changes how ProgramData counts toward transaction loaded-data limits, and unpatched nodes are planned to fork off.
Solana validators that have not installed Agave 4.4.1 are planned to be forked off the network at epoch 1079, which is expected to begin Nov. 6 at about 8:30 a.m. ET (roughly 13:30 UTC). Anza issued the warning to mainnet-beta validators on Nov. 5.
The notice came in a post on X. The clock time is approximate. Epoch 1079 is the planned cutoff.
"Upgrade now and monitor your node."
Anza
What the patch changes
According to the Agave 4.4.1 release notes, the fix applies a minimum counted size for ProgramData during account loading. ProgramData accounts hold the compiled code for programs deployed through the upgradeable loader, known as loader-v3.
Under the old behavior, for ProgramData accounts not explicitly listed in a transaction, the runtime counted a base size plus the account's data size only if the account existed. The new behavior always counts the base size plus at least the space needed for ProgramData metadata, even if the account is missing.
That difference matters because exceeding a transaction's loaded-data limit produces an error. Once the rule takes effect, patched and unpatched software can evaluate the same transaction differently.
The patch addresses how transaction data is counted. It is not a response to an attack or exploit.
Risk for unpatched nodes
Per Anza's release policy, runtime changes are switched on separately from software installation and take effect at an epoch boundary. A node that has been forked off stops tracking the network's agreed state, which puts consensus participation and vote rewards at risk. Anza's consensus troubleshooting guide states that nodes stop with an error when they detect divergence from consensus.
RPC servers that stop following consensus could also leave users without up-to-date chain information.
Market backdrop
SOL traded at about $90 on Nov. 5, down 6% over 24 hours, amid a broad decline that took total crypto market capitalization to $2.60 trillion, down 4.6%. The drop was market-wide and has not been tied to the notice.
Market commentary on the notice pointed to activity in prediction markets and read the upgrade deadline as a risk factor for SOL, without citing figures. The same commentary said a transition to Agave 4.4.1 without major disruption could help stabilize sentiment.
The practical test comes at the epoch 1079 boundary, when validators still running older software would be the ones affected.
