diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index ae9a71bc..16c43c08 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -736,7 +736,7 @@ checksum = "37909eebbb50d72f9059c3b6d82c0463f2ff062c9e95845c43a6c9c0355411be"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "fastroll"
-version = "0.1.34"
+version = "0.1.35"
 dependencies = [
  "clap",
  "fr-common",
@@ -766,7 +766,7 @@ checksum = "3f9eec918d3f24069decb9af1554cad7c880e2da24a9afd88aca000531ab82c1"
 
 [[package]]
 name = "fr-asn-types"
-version = "0.1.34"
+version = "0.1.35"
 dependencies = [
  "bitvec",
  "fr-block",
@@ -780,7 +780,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "fr-block"
-version = "0.1.34"
+version = "0.1.35"
 dependencies = [
  "bitvec",
  "fr-codec",
@@ -795,7 +795,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "fr-clock"
-version = "0.1.34"
+version = "0.1.35"
 dependencies = [
  "fr-common",
  "time",
@@ -803,7 +803,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "fr-codec"
-version = "0.1.34"
+version = "0.1.35"
 dependencies = [
  "bitvec",
  "fr-codec-derive",
@@ -813,7 +813,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "fr-codec-derive"
-version = "0.1.34"
+version = "0.1.35"
 dependencies = [
  "quote",
  "syn",
@@ -821,7 +821,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "fr-common"
-version = "0.1.34"
+version = "0.1.35"
 dependencies = [
  "cfg-if",
  "fr-codec",
@@ -838,14 +838,14 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "fr-config"
-version = "0.1.34"
+version = "0.1.35"
 dependencies = [
  "fr-db",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
 name = "fr-crypto"
-version = "0.1.34"
+version = "0.1.35"
 dependencies = [
  "ark-vrf",
  "base32",
@@ -865,7 +865,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "fr-db"
-version = "0.1.34"
+version = "0.1.35"
 dependencies = [
  "fr-codec",
  "fr-common",
@@ -877,7 +877,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "fr-erasure-coding"
-version = "0.1.34"
+version = "0.1.35"
 dependencies = [
  "fr-common",
  "rayon",
@@ -888,7 +888,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "fr-extrinsics"
-version = "0.1.34"
+version = "0.1.35"
 dependencies = [
  "fr-block",
  "fr-codec",
@@ -904,7 +904,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "fr-fuzz"
-version = "0.1.34"
+version = "0.1.35"
 dependencies = [
  "fr-block",
  "fr-codec",
@@ -915,6 +915,7 @@ dependencies = [
  "fr-state",
  "fr-storage",
  "fr-test-utils",
+ "futures",
  "tempfile",
  "thiserror 2.0.17",
  "tokio",
@@ -923,7 +924,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "fr-integration"
-version = "0.1.34"
+version = "0.1.35"
 dependencies = [
  "async-trait",
  "fr-asn-types",
@@ -952,14 +953,14 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "fr-limited-vec"
-version = "0.1.34"
+version = "0.1.35"
 dependencies = [
  "thiserror 2.0.17",
 ]
 
 [[package]]
 name = "fr-merkle"
-version = "0.1.34"
+version = "0.1.35"
 dependencies = [
  "fr-codec",
  "fr-common",
@@ -969,7 +970,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "fr-network"
-version = "0.1.34"
+version = "0.1.35"
 dependencies = [
  "async-trait",
  "dashmap 6.1.0",
@@ -988,7 +989,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "fr-node"
-version = "0.1.34"
+version = "0.1.35"
 dependencies = [
  "clap",
  "fr-block",
@@ -1015,7 +1016,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "fr-node-bench"
-version = "0.1.34"
+version = "0.1.35"
 dependencies = [
  "criterion",
  "fr-clock",
@@ -1027,7 +1028,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "fr-pvm-core"
-version = "0.1.34"
+version = "0.1.35"
 dependencies = [
  "bitvec",
  "fr-codec",
@@ -1039,7 +1040,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "fr-pvm-host"
-version = "0.1.34"
+version = "0.1.35"
 dependencies = [
  "async-trait",
  "fr-codec",
@@ -1056,7 +1057,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "fr-pvm-interface"
-version = "0.1.34"
+version = "0.1.35"
 dependencies = [
  "fr-codec",
  "fr-common",
@@ -1072,7 +1073,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "fr-pvm-invocation"
-version = "0.1.34"
+version = "0.1.35"
 dependencies = [
  "fr-codec",
  "fr-common",
@@ -1090,7 +1091,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "fr-pvm-types"
-version = "0.1.34"
+version = "0.1.35"
 dependencies = [
  "fr-codec",
  "fr-common",
@@ -1099,7 +1100,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "fr-state"
-version = "0.1.34"
+version = "0.1.35"
 dependencies = [
  "async-trait",
  "bitvec",
@@ -1126,7 +1127,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "fr-state-merkle-v2"
-version = "0.1.34"
+version = "0.1.35"
 dependencies = [
  "bitvec",
  "fr-codec",
@@ -1142,7 +1143,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "fr-storage"
-version = "0.1.34"
+version = "0.1.35"
 dependencies = [
  "async-trait",
  "fr-block",
@@ -1155,7 +1156,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "fr-test-utils"
-version = "0.1.34"
+version = "0.1.35"
 dependencies = [
  "async-trait",
  "fr-asn-types",
@@ -1181,7 +1182,7 @@ dependencies = [
 
 [[package]]
 name = "fr-transition"
-version = "0.1.34"
+version = "0.1.35"
 dependencies = [
  "fr-block",
  "fr-codec",
diff --git a/Cargo.toml b/Cargo.toml
index 14161127..752a0311 100644
--- a/Cargo.toml
+++ b/Cargo.toml
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ members = [
 ]
 
 [workspace.package]
-version = "0.1.34"
+version = "0.1.35"
 edition = "2021"
 license = "Apache-2.0"
 authors = ["Junha Park <0xjunha@gmail.com>"]
diff --git a/crypto/src/vrf/bandersnatch_vrf.rs b/crypto/src/vrf/bandersnatch_vrf.rs
index 23ede06e..48042913 100644
--- a/crypto/src/vrf/bandersnatch_vrf.rs
+++ b/crypto/src/vrf/bandersnatch_vrf.rs
@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ impl RingVrfVerifier {
     pub fn new(validator_set: &ValidatorKeySet) -> Result<Self, CryptoError> {
         let ring = validator_set_to_bandersnatch_ring(validator_set)?;
         Ok(Self {
-            core: RingVrfVerifierCore::new(ring),
+            core: RingVrfVerifierCore::new(ring)?,
         })
     }
 
diff --git a/crypto/src/vrf/vrf_core.rs b/crypto/src/vrf/vrf_core.rs
index fc175c3d..dafda750 100644
--- a/crypto/src/vrf/vrf_core.rs
+++ b/crypto/src/vrf/vrf_core.rs
@@ -24,9 +24,9 @@ pub(crate) struct IetfVrfSignature {
 // Additional impl
 impl IetfVrfSignature {
     pub(crate) fn output_hash(&self) -> [u8; 32] {
-        self.output.hash()[..32]
-            .try_into()
-            .expect("Should not fail; 32-byte array")
+        let mut out = [0u8; 32];
+        out.copy_from_slice(&self.output.hash()[..32]);
+        out
     }
 }
 
@@ -40,22 +40,27 @@ pub(crate) struct RingVrfSignature {
 // Additional impl
 impl RingVrfSignature {
     pub(crate) fn output_hash(&self) -> [u8; 32] {
-        self.output.hash()[..32]
-            .try_into()
-            .expect("Should not fail; 32-byte array")
+        let mut out = [0u8; 32];
+        out.copy_from_slice(&self.output.hash()[..32]);
+        out
     }
 }
 
-fn ring_proof_params() -> &'static RingProofParams {
+fn ring_proof_params() -> Result<&'static RingProofParams, CryptoError> {
     use std::sync::OnceLock;
-    static PARAMS: OnceLock<RingProofParams> = OnceLock::new();
-    PARAMS.get_or_init(|| {
+    static PARAMS: OnceLock<Result<RingProofParams, String>> = OnceLock::new();
+    let params = PARAMS.get_or_init(|| {
         use bandersnatch::PcsParams;
         let buf = include_bytes!("../../data/zcash-srs-2-11-uncompressed.bin");
         let pcs_params = PcsParams::deserialize_uncompressed_unchecked(&mut &buf[..])
-            .expect("Failed to deserialize PCS params");
+            .map_err(|e| format!("Failed to deserialize PCS params: {e}"))?;
         RingProofParams::from_pcs_params(RING_SIZE, pcs_params)
-            .expect("Failed to construct ring proof params from PCS params")
+            .map_err(|e| format!("Failed to construct ring proof params from PCS params: {e:?}"))
+    });
+
+    params.as_ref().map_err(|message| {
+        tracing::error!("{message}");
+        CryptoError::RingContextResourceError
     })
 }
 
@@ -147,7 +152,7 @@ impl RingVrfProverCore {
         let pts: Vec<_> = self.ring.iter().map(|pk| pk.0).collect();
 
         // Proof construction
-        let params = ring_proof_params();
+        let params = ring_proof_params()?;
         let prover_key = params.prover_key(&pts);
         let prover = params.prover(prover_key, self.prover_idx);
         let proof = self.secret.prove(input, output, aux_data, &prover);
@@ -193,9 +198,8 @@ impl IetfVrfVerifierCore {
         // `Y` hashed value; this is the actual value used as ticket-id/score
         // NOTE: as far as vrf_input_data is the same, this matches the one produced
         // using the ring-vrf (regardless of aux_data).
-        let vrf_output_hash: [u8; 32] = output.hash()[..32]
-            .try_into()
-            .expect("Should not fail; 32-byte array");
+        let mut vrf_output_hash = [0u8; 32];
+        vrf_output_hash.copy_from_slice(&output.hash()[..32]);
         tracing::trace!("vrf-output-hash: {}", hex::encode(vrf_output_hash));
         Ok(vrf_output_hash)
     }
@@ -212,11 +216,11 @@ pub(crate) struct RingVrfVerifierCore {
 }
 
 impl RingVrfVerifierCore {
-    pub(crate) fn new(ring: Vec<Public>) -> Self {
+    pub(crate) fn new(ring: Vec<Public>) -> Result<Self, CryptoError> {
         let pts: Vec<_> = ring.iter().map(|pk| pk.0).collect();
-        let verifier_key = ring_proof_params().verifier_key(&pts);
+        let verifier_key = ring_proof_params()?.verifier_key(&pts);
         let commitment = verifier_key.commitment(); // The Ring Root
-        Self { ring, commitment }
+        Ok(Self { ring, commitment })
     }
 
     #[instrument(level = "debug", skip_all, name = "compute_ring_root")]
@@ -250,7 +254,7 @@ impl RingVrfVerifierCore {
         let input = vrf_input_point(vrf_input_data)?;
         let output = signature.output; // extracted from the signature
 
-        let params = ring_proof_params();
+        let params = ring_proof_params()?;
 
         let verifier_key = params.verifier_key_from_commitment(self.commitment.clone());
         let verifier = params.verifier(verifier_key);
@@ -261,9 +265,8 @@ impl RingVrfVerifierCore {
         tracing::trace!("Ring signature verified");
 
         // `Y` hashed value; the actual value used as ticket-id/score
-        let vrf_output_hash: [u8; 32] = output.hash()[..32]
-            .try_into()
-            .expect("Should not fail; 32-byte array");
+        let mut vrf_output_hash = [0u8; 32];
+        vrf_output_hash.copy_from_slice(&output.hash()[..32]);
         tracing::trace!("vrf-output-hash: {}", hex::encode(vrf_output_hash));
         Ok(vrf_output_hash)
     }
diff --git a/fuzz/Cargo.toml b/fuzz/Cargo.toml
index 56df6b3a..c03f3840 100644
--- a/fuzz/Cargo.toml
+++ b/fuzz/Cargo.toml
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@ fr-node = { workspace = true }
 fr-state = { workspace = true }
 fr-storage = { workspace = true }
 fr-test-utils = { workspace = true }
+futures = { workspace = true }
 tempfile = { workspace = true }
 thiserror = { workspace = true }
 tokio = { workspace = true }
diff --git a/fuzz/src/fuzz_target.rs b/fuzz/src/fuzz_target.rs
index 55d620c9..3545d954 100644
--- a/fuzz/src/fuzz_target.rs
+++ b/fuzz/src/fuzz_target.rs
@@ -26,9 +26,12 @@ use fr_state::{
     },
 };
 use fr_storage::node_storage::{NodeStorage, NodeStorageError};
+use futures::FutureExt;
 use std::{
+    any::Any,
     collections::{BTreeSet, HashMap},
     io::Error as IoError,
+    panic::AssertUnwindSafe,
     string::FromUtf8Error,
     sync::Arc,
 };
@@ -36,7 +39,7 @@ use tempfile::{tempdir, TempDir};
 use thiserror::Error;
 use tokio::{
     net::{UnixListener, UnixStream},
-    time::error::Elapsed,
+    time::{error::Elapsed, sleep, Duration},
 };
 
 #[derive(Debug, Error)]
@@ -69,6 +72,8 @@ pub enum FuzzTargetError {
     InvalidMessageKind(String),
     #[error("Invalid socket path: {0}")]
     InvalidSocketPath(String),
+    #[error("Fuzz protocol message exceeds maximum allowed size: observed={observed} max={max}")]
+    MessageTooLarge { observed: usize, max: usize },
 }
 
 /// Collection of the state keys of the latest chain state.
@@ -402,6 +407,16 @@ impl FuzzTargetRunner {
         Ok(())
     }
 
+    fn panic_payload_message(payload: &(dyn Any + Send)) -> String {
+        if let Some(msg) = payload.downcast_ref::<&'static str>() {
+            (*msg).to_string()
+        } else if let Some(msg) = payload.downcast_ref::<String>() {
+            msg.clone()
+        } else {
+            "non-string panic payload".to_string()
+        }
+    }
+
     pub async fn run_as_fuzz_target(&mut self, socket_path: String) -> Result<(), FuzzTargetError> {
         // Validate socket path input
         validate_socket_path(&socket_path)?;
@@ -415,20 +430,50 @@ impl FuzzTargetRunner {
         let mut is_first_session = true;
 
         // Continuously accept new connections after closing the previous session.
-        while let Ok((stream, _addr)) = listener.accept().await {
+        loop {
+            let (stream, _addr) = match listener.accept().await {
+                Ok(stream) => stream,
+                Err(e) => {
+                    tracing::error!("Failed to accept fuzzer connection: {e}");
+                    sleep(Duration::from_millis(100)).await;
+                    continue;
+                }
+            };
             tracing::info!("Accepted a connection from the fuzzer");
 
             if is_first_session {
                 is_first_session = false;
             } else {
                 // Reset storage & state for the new session
-                *self = FuzzTargetRunner::new(self.target_peer_info.clone())?;
+                if let Err(e) = self.reset_state_context() {
+                    tracing::error!("Failed to reset fuzz target session state: {e}");
+                    continue;
+                }
             }
 
-            self.handle_fuzzer_session(stream).await?;
-            tracing::info!("Fuzzer session ended");
+            // Session-level panic isolation: panics should only terminate the current session.
+            let session_result = AssertUnwindSafe(self.handle_fuzzer_session(stream))
+                .catch_unwind()
+                .await;
+            match session_result {
+                // Successful session termination
+                Ok(Ok(())) => tracing::info!("Fuzzer session ended"),
+                // Runtime errors
+                Ok(Err(e)) => {
+                    tracing::warn!("Fuzzer session terminated due to runtime error: {e}");
+                }
+                // Runtime panics (unwinding)
+                Err(payload) => {
+                    tracing::error!(
+                        "Fuzzer session panicked; closing session and continuing: {}",
+                        Self::panic_payload_message(&payload)
+                    );
+                    if let Err(e) = self.reset_state_context() {
+                        tracing::error!("Failed to recover fuzz target state after panic: {e}");
+                    }
+                }
+            }
         }
-        Ok(())
     }
 
     async fn handle_fuzzer_session(
@@ -457,11 +502,11 @@ impl FuzzTargetRunner {
                     }
                 }
                 Err(e) => {
-                    if Self::is_session_disconnect_error(&e) {
+                    return if Self::is_session_disconnect_error(&e) {
                         tracing::info!("Fuzzer session disconnected gracefully");
-                        return Ok(());
+                        Ok(())
                     } else {
-                        return Err(e);
+                        Err(e)
                     }
                 }
             }
@@ -658,7 +703,7 @@ impl FuzzTargetRunner {
                 // GetState must return the posterior state for the requested header hash.
                 let state = self.build_state_for_hash(&requested_header_hash).await?;
                 StreamUtils::send_message(stream, FuzzMessageKind::State(state)).await?;
-                tracing::info!("Session terminated by GetState request");
+                tracing::info!("[SEND][GetState] Returned full state");
                 Ok(())
             }
             e => Err(FuzzTargetError::InvalidMessageKind(format!("{e:?}"))),
diff --git a/fuzz/src/types.rs b/fuzz/src/types.rs
index 41df4ddc..0f6978ba 100644
--- a/fuzz/src/types.rs
+++ b/fuzz/src/types.rs
@@ -316,7 +316,11 @@ impl JamEncode for FuzzProtocolMessage {
 impl FuzzProtocolMessage {
     pub fn from_kind(kind: FuzzMessageKind) -> Result<Self, JamCodecError> {
         let encoded = kind.encode()?;
-        let msg_length = encoded.len() as u32;
+        let msg_length = u32::try_from(encoded.len()).map_err(|_| {
+            JamCodecError::EncodingError(
+                "Fuzz protocol message length exceeds u32::MAX".to_string(),
+            )
+        })?;
         Ok(Self { msg_length, kind })
     }
 }
diff --git a/transition/src/state/safrole.rs b/transition/src/state/safrole.rs
index 91a6bd5c..ee6b08bf 100644
--- a/transition/src/state/safrole.rs
+++ b/transition/src/state/safrole.rs
@@ -171,7 +171,7 @@ async fn handle_ticket_accumulation(
 
 fn extract_epoch_marker_keys(
     validator_set: &ValidatorKeySet,
-) -> FixedVec<EpochMarkerValidatorKey, VALIDATOR_COUNT> {
+) -> Result<FixedVec<EpochMarkerValidatorKey, VALIDATOR_COUNT>, TransitionError> {
     let mut result = Vec::with_capacity(VALIDATOR_COUNT);
     for key in validator_set.iter() {
         result.push(EpochMarkerValidatorKey {
@@ -180,7 +180,7 @@ fn extract_epoch_marker_keys(
         });
     }
 
-    FixedVec::try_from(result).expect("size checked")
+    Ok(FixedVec::try_from(result)?)
 }
 
 #[instrument(level = "debug", skip_all, name = "header_markers")]
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@ pub async fn mark_safrole_header_markers(
         Some(EpochMarker {
             entropy: prior_entropy.current().clone(),
             tickets_entropy: prior_entropy.first_history().clone(),
-            validators: extract_epoch_marker_keys(&curr_pending_set),
+            validators: extract_epoch_marker_keys(&curr_pending_set)?,
         })
     } else {
         None