Anza is urging Solana mainnet-beta operators to upgrade to Agave 4.4.1 before epoch 1079 begins on Nov. 6. Validators on older versions risk being forked off the network. Operators who do not run Agave can use Firedancer 26.10.6 instead.
Anza, the engineering firm behind the Agave client, issued an advisory on Nov. 5, 2026 asking Solana mainnet-beta operators to move to Agave 4.4.1 immediately. Validators that stay on older versions risk being forked off the network when epoch 1079 begins, which is expected at approximately 13:30 UTC on Nov. 6, 2026.
A patch tied to an upcoming feature gate
The centerpiece of the release is a patch that standardizes the data size for loader-v3 ProgramData accounts. Anza has flagged it as a critical fix, and it is required for compatibility with an upcoming feature gate activation.
The Defiant reports that the release notes describe the fix as applying a minimum counted size for ProgramData during account loading. As a result, patched and unpatched software can evaluate the same transaction differently once the new rule takes effect, because exceeding a transaction's loaded-data limit produces an error.
What unpatched nodes stand to lose
Validators running earlier versions face exclusion from consensus and from network rewards once epoch 1079 starts. According to The Defiant, a server that stops following consensus could also leave its users without up-to-date chain information.
The upgrade follows another one closely. Anza tagged Agave v4.4.0 as stable and recommended it for general mainnet use on Oct. 30, 2026, after a phased rollout that moved from 10% to 20% of stake.
Operators who do not run Agave have another path: the alternative client Firedancer, in version 26.10.6, has been confirmed to meet the new requirements.
The window is tight. With the advisory issued on Nov. 5 and the epoch boundary expected at approximately 13:30 UTC on Nov. 6, operators have roughly a day to act.
Sources: Crypto Briefing, The Defiant
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