Bitcoin Core, the main software used to run the Bitcoin network, has changed how it handles some security flaws because AI tools are making them easier to find.
Under a policy update merged on Thursday, flaws judged to be “easily discoverable” will be fixed in all maintained releases and shipped in a new version as quickly as possible. The project will publish a security advisory alongside the patched software.
What has changed
Bitcoin Core previously tended to keep security fixes under long embargoes, often holding them back until the next major release.
The new “easily discoverable” label covers issues that could be found with a simple query to an AI model. For those bugs, the project will no longer wait.
Why the developers made the change
The update was proposed earlier in October by Antoine Poinsot, a developer at Chaincode Labs.
Poinsot said AI models have “drastically reduced the bar” to find certain types of issue, or to spot a fix that has been shipped quietly.
He argued that patching these bugs in secret “would achieve little,” because AI scans can find them anyway and a fast fix to older versions would reveal them regardless.
Developers concluded that a long embargo in these cases “achieves little but delays the availability of a fixed release.”
Other projects are adjusting too
Bitcoin Core is not alone in adjusting to AI-assisted bug hunting.
In early August, an AI-driven audit logged nearly 5,000 findings across hundreds of crypto projects. A volunteer group called the Bitcoin Red Team is working to find flaws that AI could uncover before attackers do. Developers have also patched AI-surfaced bugs in Lightning Network software and hardware wallets.
What it means for users
For people running Bitcoin Core, the practical change is that some security updates will arrive sooner and come with public advisories. Node operators will need to update more promptly when they do.
