This epic tracks all the effort needed to deliver the solution related to the bug described below.

 Problem Description: Clearly explain the issue.

With ovn25.09-25.09.1-11.el9fdp ovn-northd hits an assertion failure:

2025-12-01T18:33:16.043Z|00021|backtrace|ERR|lib/vlog.c:1309 backtrace:
ovn-northd(+0xd3d37) [0x5616a6f33d37]
ovn-northd(+0xc07c3) [0x5616a6f207c3]
ovn-northd(+0xb487b) [0x5616a6f1487b]
ovn-northd(+0xd50fa) [0x5616a6f350fa]
ovn-northd(+0x77442) [0x5616a6ed7442]
ovn-northd(+0x85397) [0x5616a6ee5397]
ovn-northd(+0x87a8a) [0x5616a6ee7a8a]
ovn-northd(+0x2012f) [0x5616a6e8012f]
/lib64/libc.so.6(+0x29590) [0x7f6b92352590]
/lib64/libc.so.6(__libc_start_main+0x80) [0x7f6b92352640]
ovn-northd(+0x21035) [0x5616a6e81035]
ovn-northd: lib/ovsdb-idl.c:3650: assertion row->new_datum != NULL failed in ovsdb_idl_txn_write__()

 
Decoded backtrace:

ovn-northd(+0xb487b) [0x5616a6f1487b]    ovs_assert_failure (ovs-2e7d3ea0d0cade43da9156646cf8260f454431e8/lib/util.c:88).
ovn-northd(+0xd50fa) [0x5616a6f350fa]    ovsdb_idl_txn_write__()
ovn-northd(+0x77442) [0x5616a6ed7442]    en_sync_from_sb_run()
ovn-northd(+0x85397) [0x5616a6ee5397]
ovn-northd(+0x87a8a) [0x5616a6ee7a8a]



(gdb) list *0x77442
0x77442 is in en_sync_from_sb_run (northd/northd.c:19564).
19559           }
19560
19561           /* ovn-controller will update 'Port_Binding.up' only if it was
19562            * explicitly set to 'false'.
19563            */
19564           if (!op->sb->n_up) {
19565               up = false;
19566               sbrec_port_binding_set_up(op->sb, &up, 1);
19567           }

Hit here: https://gcsweb-ci.apps.ci.l2s4.p1.openshiftapps.com/gcs/test-platform-results/pr-logs/pull/openshi[...]bernetes_ovnkube-node-sxwmc_northd_previous.log

 Impact Assessment: Describe the severity and impact (e.g., network down,availability of a workaround, etc.).

northd crashes
 

 Software Versions: Specify the exact versions in use (e.g.,openvswitch3.1-3.1.0-147.el8fdp).

ovn25.09-25.09.1-11.el9fdp
 

  Issue Type: Indicate whether this is a new issue or a regression (if a regression, state the last known working version).

unknown
 

 Reproducibility: Confirm if the issue can be reproduced consistently. If not, describe how often it occurs.

Sometimes in OCP CI, e.g.:
https://github.com/openshift/ovn-kubernetes/pull/2884
 

 Reproduction Steps: Provide detailed steps or scripts to replicate the issue.

Unknown.
 

 Expected Behavior: Describe what should happen under normal circumstances.

ovn-northd should not crash
 

 Observed Behavior: Explain what actually happens.

ovn-northd tries to write to a deleted IDL record triggering an assertion failure in the IDL.
 

 Troubleshooting Actions: Outline the steps taken to diagnose or resolve the issue so far.

 Logs: If you collected logs please provide them (e.g. sos report, /var/log/openvswitch/* , testpmd console)

See attached NB/SB databases. NOTE: they're taken way after the fact so we need to try to correlate what happened around the time of the crash (2025-12-01T18:33:16.043Z).