test: don't always assert NUM_PRIVATE_BROADCAST_PER_TX broadcasts
What the developer wrote
Authored by Vasil Dimov
test: don't always assert NUM_PRIVATE_BROADCAST_PER_TX broadcasts
In `p2p_private_broadcast.py` in the function `check_broadcasts()` we
should assert that the broadcast was done to `broadcasts_to_expect`
peers, not to `NUM_PRIVATE_BROADCAST_PER_TX`. This is because in the
"Basic" test we check the first broadcast manually because it is done to
`nodes[1]` and then check the other two by
`check_broadcasts(..., NUM_PRIVATE_BROADCAST_PER_TX - 1, ...)`.
The first broadcast might not have fully concluded by the time we call
`check_broadcasts()` to check the remaining 2.
Demanding always `NUM_PRIVATE_BROADCAST_PER_TX` can lead to:
```
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/home/vd/gh/bitcoin/bitcoin/test/functional/test_framework/test_framework.py", line 142, in main
self.run_test()
~~~~~~~~~~~~~^^
File "/tmp/build/clang22/test/functional/p2p_private_broadcast.py", line 347, in run_test
self.check_broadcasts("Basic", txs[0], NUM_PRIVATE_BROADCAST_PER_TX - 1, NUM_INITIAL_CONNECTIONS + 1)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
File "/tmp/build/clang22/test/functional/p2p_private_broadcast.py", line 313, in check_broadcasts
assert_greater_than_or_equal(sum(1 for p in peers if "received" in p), NUM_PRIVATE_BROADCAST_PER_TX)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
File "/home/vd/gh/bitcoin/bitcoin/test/functional/test_framework/util.py", line 94, in assert_greater_than_or_equal
raise AssertionError("%s < %s" % (str(thing1), str(thing2)))
AssertionError: 2 < 3
```
What changed, and why it matters
This is a one-line fix in a Bitcoin Core test script. It changes a test assertion to check the correct expected number of peer broadcasts, preventing a flaky test failure. It does not change any production code or network behavior, so it has no security impact on users.
No security action needed; this is a test-only reliability fix. Reviewers can merge as a normal test improvement.
Security signals we found
No strong security signals were identified.
Evidence from the diff
In test/functional/p2p_private_broadcast.py, the check_broadcasts() helper was asserting that at least NUM_PRIVATE_BROADCAST_PER_TX peers had received a broadcast. In the ‘Basic’ test, the first broadcast is verified separately and may still be in flight when check_broadcasts() is called for the remaining two, causing an intermittent assertion failure (2 < 3). The patch changes the assertion to compare against the broadcasts_to_expect parameter actually passed into the helper, matching the test’s intent and eliminating the race-related flake.
Changed components
test/functional/p2p_private_broadcast.pyInspect captured patch +1 / −1
diff --git a/test/functional/p2p_private_broadcast.py b/test/functional/p2p_private_broadcast.py
index 9a1a7991..b81b5aa4 100755
--- a/test/functional/p2p_private_broadcast.py
+++ b/test/functional/p2p_private_broadcast.py
@@ -310,7 +310,7 @@ class P2PPrivateBroadcast(BitcoinTestFramework):
peers = pending[0]["peers"]
assert len(peers) >= NUM_PRIVATE_BROADCAST_PER_TX
assert all("address" in p and "sent" in p for p in peers)
- assert_greater_than_or_equal(sum(1 for p in peers if "received" in p), NUM_PRIVATE_BROADCAST_PER_TX)
+ assert_greater_than_or_equal(sum(1 for p in peers if "received" in p), broadcasts_to_expect)
def run_test(self):
tx_originator = self.nodes[0]
Why this scored 15/100
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